nsx

Flight credits only. Therefore you could be CP and not be A-list.

nsx

If BS fares are limited to 10%, that's 14 pax. A-listers might be another 20 to 30 on a commuter flight. That still leaves some A's for connecting passengers to grab, leaving you with a B.

pitflyer

Seems to me As will be much harder to get on popular business flights as a lot of them will get the As before anyone who 'wants to get away' can even check in.

I see that flights under 750 miles get 1.25 credits vs flights over 750 miles get 2 credits with business select. Southwest seems to be slowly changing from a "one way, one segment" type of model to much more mileage based model.

Its funny that as I post this someone posted the same question. We'll see how many Business Select fares the actually sell... his answer was some people dont care where they sit.. that much be true except only the true sickos WANT middle seats

nsx

Wow, I just heard Gary Kelly channel me in talking about matching up the people who care about seating to the best seats. Maybe he reads FT...

Appletom

Nobody's mentioned yet a brand new Business Select (who chose a name with the initials BS?) benefit. Look at http://www.southwest.com/fares/pop_fareCompare.html to read a comparison chart with the advantages of BS seat pricing - the third item is something everybody has been asking for for a long time:

uncertaintraveler

Sure...so long as the "Business Select" didn't sell out (13-14 seats; assuming 10% of 137) and there aren't another 30 or so already on the A-list.

Regarding the A-list, the one-year date is measured from when? Presumably, from the date that you completed 32 one-ways? And it expires when? Is it a rolling measurement?

uncertaintraveler

Perhaps this is not the acronym that SW wants people to use...

uncertaintraveler

Yeah, but couldn't you already do that on a regular full-fare ticket?

Appletom

I should have read the entire comparison page before my previous post. BS flyers also get a FREE drink - something that seems very important to a disproportionate number of FT'ers

FCfree

If someone buys a "Wanna-Get-Away" fare and then at the last minute needs to make a change, can he buy up to a Business Select Fare?

If you are less than 24 hours before a flight and you are sitting on a Wanna-Get-Away fare, making a change to full fare right now sucks because you pay the full fare price, but you get a B or C boarding pass. If you could buy your way up to Business Select and get an A boarding pass, it would be worth the extra $15 or so.

However, this seems unlikely unless fewer than 14 or so business select seats have been sold. They could fix this, however, by opening up more business select fares during the last 24 hours before the flight.


Another question about the 32 one-way flight count -- if the person buys Business Select Fares, does that reduce the one-way count to 32/1.25 = 26 or 32/2 = 16, because of the bonus you get for buying business select? Seems like the answer is NO, but worth a look.

Diamondback

It looks like I'm on the A-list from my BP-printing experience this morning. There is still one major drawback to their methodology. Many "A-Listers" likely standby for earlier flights at the last minute. Under this method, will the GA realize you are an A lister and be able to override that you have a C boarding pass? We are used to printing 23:59:59 so it is only a minor improvement for me unless they guarantee A for all flights.

corrad

I doubt the difference between Wanna-Get-Away fare and BS fare is going to be anything less than $35-$40. Keep in mind that the BS fare will be higher than the current fully refundable fare.

FCfree

The advantage of being on the A-list is that you won't have to be glued to your computer or cell-phone at 23:59:59 before the flight. The A seat is yours.... even if you check in at, dare I say, 23:58:00 before the flight! (Actually, you can even check in at the airport and you will still get an A)

I do hope that the GA will be able to give someone who does a standby/upgrade an A seat if they are on the A-list.

curbcrusher

My vision of "pay-for-A" is a $5 (or whatever) add-on available to all comers, but I see your point.

BS fares won't be 10% on all flights. They said that percentage will vary by specific flight and day. The 10% figure sounds light a ballpark estimate bordering on WAG in retrospect.

That all depends on if there will be As reserved for BS fares after check in opens. Yours is a very good question.

No. The BS premium is RR credits, not segment multiples toward A-List eligibility.

Appletom

Man, I really need to get to the pharmacy and refill my "Think Before Posting" pills. I made a stupid blunder just as bad earlier this morning in a Photoshop forum.

Dumb Apple.