Southwest's Surprising New Fee

For those who just can’t stand to board their flight with the general masses, Southwest Airlines has the solution. The Dallas-based carrier has introduced an early-boarding option…for a fee.

The new $40 fee will guarantee that certain passengers will be one of the first 15 on the plane, reports the Los Angeles Times.

Southwest does not have assigned seating, the Associated Press points out. Instead, passengers board in three groups: A, B and C.

Passengers already had the option of paying $10 for Southwest’s Early Bird Check-In, which nudges them up in the boarding queue. But, the new early-boarding passes, which can be purchased at the gate up to 45 minutes before the flight, are a guarantee of priority.

The program, which launched Monday, was introduced after it received positive feedback on a test run last month in San Diego, reports The Dallas Morning News.

Quick Poll

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• Blanket Fee

  Back in 2010, American Airlines a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/08/american-airlines-to-char_n_454109.html” target=”_hplink”started charging $8 for blankets/a.

• Ryanair Boarding Pass Fees

  Songstress Lily Allen took to twitter to express anger overa href=”http://news.travel.aol.com/2011/06/06/lily-allen-twitter-ryanair-boarding-pass/” target=”_hplink” Ryanair’s policy of charging passengers to print out their boarding passes/a.

• Spirit’s Online Booking Fee

  In November 2011, Spirit Airlines a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/14/spirit-airlines-raises-on_0_n_1093430.html” target=”_hplink”raised its domestic “passenger usage fee” (aka online booking fee) from $8.99 to $16.99/a each way.

• Fuel Fees

  Southwest Airlines a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/26/southwest-airlines-fees-fuel-costs_n_1381008.html” target=”_hplink”raised its ticket prices by $4 to $10 to offset the high cost of jet fuel/a in March 2012. Its subsidiary AirTran, plus United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, US Airways, Frontier Airlines and Virgin America followed suit.

• Ryanair Emergency Row Fee

  Ryanair found itself under investigation after a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/20/ryanair-in-hot-water-over_n_1366497.html” target=”_hplink”instituting a 10 pound fee to sit in the emergency row/a.

• Allegiant Air’s Carry-On Fee

  In April 2012 the budget carrier announced a a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/02/allegiant-air-carry-on-fe_n_1397911.html” target=”_hplink”$35 carry-on fee/a.

• Spirit’s New Carry-On Fee

  A month later, low-cost Spirit Airlines a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/02/spirit-airlines-carry-on-fee_n_1472508.html” target=”_hplink”upped carry-on fees to as much as $100/a.

• Airlines Could Charge Extra For Seats Together

  Late May 2012 saw airlines start to a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/21/airline-charges-seats_n_1533866.html” target=”_hplink”reserve more window and aisle seats for passengers willing to pay extra/a. This would make it it harder for friends and family members to sit next to each other.br /
  br /
  Sen. Charles Schumer urged airlines to a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/27/chuck-schumer-airlines_n_1548794.html” target=”_hplink”allow families with young children to sit together without paying extra/a.

• United’s $100 Bag Fee

  In June 2012, United a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/12/united-airlines-raises-international-bag-fee_n_1589223.html” target=”_hplink”raised its fee for a second checked bag on trans-Atlantic flights to $100/a. Delta had done the same a few months earlier.

• Wizz Air’s Carry-On Fee

  Carry-On fees have finally hopped the pond. a href=”http://skift.com/2012/07/09/carry-on-bag-fee-spreading-wizz-air-charge-europe/” target=”_hplink”European regional carrier Wizz Air instituted a 10 Euro (about $12) fee to use the overhead bins/a. Bags that fit under the seats still fly free.

Southwest's Surprising New Fee