Southwest's Own Version Of First Class

wnbubbleboy

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Aug 21, 2002
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By God Indiana
To the Front of the Line, for a Price

By Keith L. Alexander
Tuesday, October 25, 2005; D01



For years, Leo Elias set his alarm clock for midnight whenever he was booked to fly on Southwest Airlines the next day. Jangled out of bed, he would stumble over to his computer to print out a boarding pass. It was the ritual he and other Southwest passengers had to endure to ensure that they would be among the first to board, with their choice of seats and an empty overhead bin for their bags.

Because Southwest doesn't issue seat assignments, passengers board in the order in which they check in and get their boarding passes. The first 45 passengers to check in board first, followed by a second group of 45, with a third group following them.

Southwest's check-in and boarding policies provoked some of the most constant complaints from passengers. So the airline last month expanded the window for flight check-in on its Web site. Instead of the midnight before departure, travelers can now check in and print their boarding passes 24 hours before their flight.

It's a welcome change for some passengers but not good enough for Elias.

He now uses the services of Boardfirst.com. For $5 per flight, Boardfirst.com checks passengers in and assures them of boarding with the first group.

"Time is money, and at the convenience end of it, when you're paying a hundred or so dollars for a flight, an extra $5 more isn't that much more," said Elias, a Phoenix-based human resources manager.

Kate Bell, a Southwest frequent flier herself, created Boardfirst.com to serve as a personal travel assistant for Southwest passengers. She came up with the idea after standing in line with other Southwest passengers who were complaining about the hassle of ensuring that they were among the first to get a boarding pass. She launched Boardfirst in July after teaming up with Web designer James Adams. It has two other employees.

Bell said many of her customers rely on her company more for their return flights than for their departures. "If you're in a business meeting or somewhere where you can't get to your computer in time, we'll check in for you," she said.

Southwest spokesman Ed Stewart said he was "bewildered" by the niche. "Is someone that busy that they don't have time to print out the boarding pass for themselves for free?" he said. He added that the airline discourages its customers from sharing their flight and personal information with sites other than Southwest's.

Travelers sign in with Boardfirst and pay $5 up to 48 hours before their flight. The Web site will then check passengers in with the first group or the service is free. In place of the travelers themselves, Boardfirst checks in passengers during the 24-hour window Southwest provides. Customers are sent an e-mail notifying them that their boarding pass is ready, and they can either print it out from their computer or pick it up at the airport.

Another Web company similar to Boardfirst.com is Boardingpassbuddy.com. The company, which charges $15 per flight, gets passengers early boarding on Southwest and other airlines. It also arranges seat assignments on some airlines. Its software must be downloaded onto a personal computer. The company, which started in the summer, is hoping to shift away from the software-download format to a Web site by June.

Edmund Har, the company's president, described his service as being in a testing phase.

"It's for the business traveler who wants to go to one place to have all of his check-ins done for him. It's a way to make their lives a little more simplistic," Har said.

He said his service is aimed at travelers who have five or six segments of travel a week and won't have time to check each time on their own.

Elite members of airline frequent-flier programs won't have a need for the service, however; these travelers are assured early check-in and seat assignments because of their status.

Har says Boarding Pass Buddy has about "a couple hundred" paid customers; he says about 1,000 users have downloaded its software. He says the company has two employees who monitor e-mails and service travelers' concerns.

Both Boardfirst.com and Boarding Pass Buddy have advertised on search engines and travel sites such as Google and Flyertalk.com.

While the companies bill themselves as time-saving travel tools, spokesmen for Delta, American and United said passengers should use these services at their own risk. Travelers can perform the same functions on the airlines' Web sites for free, the carriers say. The airlines stressed that the boarding-pass sites had no affiliation with them and that relying on them for seat assignments could be a gamble.
 
I was wondering through the web earlier and came across this web site. www.boardingfirst.com. They claim to be able to claim your boarding pass for 5 dollars. Does this sound legit?
 
I'm not sure I understand it either... must be some sort of empowerment thing for these Customers. I can remember back in the day of the numbered plastic boarding passes there would always be someone who would stand perched at the gate at least a half hour before it opened just so they could get that #1 boarding pass, then they would go right to the boarding area so they could be "first" there as well and they'd stand there until they boarded the flight.

Last time I checked, every seat in that aircraft arrived at the destination at the exact same time!
 
BoardFirst.com founder flies high, wins praise of Southwest executive


Dec. 27, 2005 12:00 AM

As the year draws to a close, The Arizona Republic looks back at some of the biggest stories and catches you up with some well-known figures.

WHO: Kate Bell is the founder and president of BoardFirst.com, a Phoenix-based service for Southwest Airlines passengers.

IN THE NEWS: Bell received national publicity this fall for her service, which checks in Southwest customers online. Customers pay Bell $5 each way for an "A" boarding pass, which guarantees better seats.

HOW DID IT AFFECT HER: Business has been so brisk from the publicity that Bell had to hire workers and find an office. BoardFirst now has seven employees. The company is busy from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day.

WHAT'S UP NOW: When word about BoardFirst started getting around, some observers predicted that Southwest would quash it on legal grounds. That hasn't happened, in part, because Bell's husband is a lawyer and they researched all the angles before starting the company. Bell said Southwest founder Herb Kelleher was gracious when she introduced herself at an awards luncheon in his honor this month in Phoenix. "He was so nice. I was shocked. I thought he was going to kick me in the face."

HOPES FOR THE NEW YEAR: BoardFirst hopes to expand into the business travel market. It is developing programs in which frequent fliers can store a month's worth of flight information in advance and sign up for automatic boarding passes.
 
[quote name='I'mRayFlyMe' post='333519' date='Dec 19 2005, 08:07 AM']Last time I checked, every seat in that aircraft arrived at the destination at the exact same time![/quote]

True, but when you are stuck in a middle seat between two 300 pounders, it sure seems longer.
 
In Theory our Customers of Size (COS) are required to purchase two seats, but I can tell you from experience that they often are never asked. It's probably related to most people's fear of confrontation (present company included) and the likley possibility that the passenger will be offended. So, poor DCT JVL may truley find himself the tiny hot dog between four fairly large buns. No sexual conotation intended.
 
"Fools and their money are soon parted"

$5 extra to do something you can easily do yourself, to sit in exactly the same seat on exactly the same flight, arriving at exactly the same time?
 
Wow, I mean, I knew travelers these days were cheap... but to get out of bed every Sunday night, power up the computer, and nervously print out the boarding pass, crossing fingers to get in group 'A', all just so they can fly Southwest, and [maybe] save a few dollars on the ticket? I'm dumbfounded that people would do this, instead of the rational decision (fly an airline that's actually willing to reserve a seat for you), but then again, these are the people that do all their shopping at Wal-Mart and almost always tip less than 15%.

So today, we solute you, Mr. Cheap Ass Discount Airline traveler... you put the 'ass' in boarding pass....
 
Wow, I mean, I knew travelers these days were cheap... but to get out of bed every Sunday night, power up the computer, and nervously print out the boarding pass, crossing fingers to get in group 'A', all just so they can fly Southwest, and [maybe] save a few dollars on the ticket? I'm dumbfounded that people would do this, instead of the rational decision (fly an airline that's actually willing to reserve a seat for you), but then again, these are the people that do all their shopping at Wal-Mart and almost always tip less than 15%.

So today, we solute you, Mr. Cheap Ass Discount Airline traveler... you put the 'ass' in boarding pass....
Times change 757...no more getting up at midnight on Sunday for your 8 a.m. flight on Monday...today you can print your Monday morning boarding pass anytime after 8 a.m. on Sunday. Get up...have a nice cup of coffee, read the Sunday paper..hop on the computer and print a boarding card. IMHO, that's even better than getting the dreaded "gate check in" on the airline that assigns seats...just not yours.
 
The lawsuit, filed in federal district court in Dallas, is pending.

In its countersuit, BoardFirst accused Southwest of sabotaging its business by denigrating the company with customers and encouraging Hertz to end its deal with BoardFirst. The rental-car company ended the BoardFirst arrangement in August.

Southwest spokeswoman Brandy King said the claims have no merit and won't stop the airline from trying to prevent BoardFirst from violating its business.





http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/4313862.html