No more middle seats for you! Southwest Airlines is now letting passengers upgrade their boarding position online.
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Upgrade Your Flight
Starting today, you can upgrade your boarding position online from group C to group A. Previously, these upgrades were only available at the airport. Boarding upgrade sales are available starting 24 hours before scheduled flight times and will close 30 minutes prior to departure. Boarding group upgrades start at $30 per flight segment, but can be more expensive depending on the popularity and length of the flight.
Upgrade Specifics
Upgrades are available to anyone purchasing an Anytime, Wanna Get Away, and Wanna Get Away Plus fare. Business Select fares are not eligible because they already come with priority boarding. Keep in mind that upgraded boarding is per flight segment. That means, if you are flying from Denver to San Diego but have a layover in Phoenix, you must buy an upgraded boarding position for the Denver-to-Phoenix leg and the Phoenix-to-San Diego leg.
Another restriction to keep in mind when deciding whether to upgrade your flight is that it is non-transferable and non-refundable. So if you pay to get into the A group for a Las Vegas-to-Denver flight, but then decide to change it to a later one, your upgraded boarding will not transfer, and you can’t get your money back. If you want to board with the A group on your new flight, you will need to purchase another upgraded boarding spot. In the event that your flight is canceled, you will be refunded for your upgrade purchase.
Upgrade Availability
As mentioned earlier, upgraded boarding will be available starting 24 hours prior to the scheduled takeoff time. When you check in online or on the Southwest app, there will be an option to purchase an upgrade under the “View Boarding Pass” button. If you do not see an upgrade option, that means all of the upgrades for that flight are sold out, either by passengers traveling on a Business Select fare or passengers who purchased an upgrade before you. You are also still able to purchase an upgraded boarding position at the airport, pending availability.
The new online upgrade system comes on the heels of Southwest adding a new fare class — Wanna Get Away Plus — to its flights and as it explores possibly adding seat assignments in the future.
