A Good Seat on Southwest

In my post from last week, I mentioned that I live in Salt Lake but work in the San Francisco area. That means I do a lot of flying. I have traveled my whole career and so this is no big deal. The way to make it bearable is to know a few travel tricks. Things like wearing slip-on shoes to the airport so you don't have to do a lot of shoe tying at the security line.

However, the most important trick is to know how to get a good seat on Southwest airlines. I buy my plane tickets several weeks in advance and Southwest generally has the best prices. That means I don't get a seat when I make my reservation. Yes, I have the option of paying an extra fee that allows me to board before everyone, but I found a less expensive solution that helps to be in the first boarding group.

Southwest allows you to check-in, 24 hours before your flight. The order you check in, is the order that you get to board the plane (behind those that paid the extra fee). When I make my flight reservation, I also make an entry in the calendar on my phone. I then set the reminder on my phone so that exactly 24 hours before my flight I can start the check-in process. Since I have an iPhone, I also have the Southwest application which allows me to check in from anywhere. Last week I was at the car wash when the alarm went off. I silenced the alarm and was checked in before the wash cycle completed.

Now that I figured out how to use my calendar to help me remember to check in for flights, I should probably throw in some important dates, like my anniversary and wife's birthday. That reminds me, Mother's Day is just around the corner. Now if I only knew what to get the mother of my children . . .