Have you ever wondered what it is like to be upgraded on your flight? Well, let me tell you: if your flight has been upgraded by the airline, then you are in for a great ride. The experience will be even more surreal when you get it for free without paying any fee. If you are sitting here wondering if getting upgraded on your next flight will be worth a cent, then yes, you will. You can get priority boarding, extra leg space, and an additional baggage option. Let’s dive into the article to learn more about the Southwest Airlines upgrade process.
How Can you Request an Upgrade For your Flight on Southwest Airlines?
Now, for those who travel in economy class and want to upgrade to either business class or first class. Well, lucky for you, Southwest Airlines offers passengers an option to upgrade their seats on Southwest Airlines.
- Book a qualifying fare to get upgraded on Southwest or any other airline. If you have one, then you can easily request a flight upgrade.
- Before upgrading your flight, always snoop around a little to find out if there’s any seat availability or not. To check, go to the official website of Southwest Airlines and log into your account, or you can contact the airline and inquire about the seat.
- According to the Southwest airline upgrade policy, passengers can request a seat upgrade on their scheduled flight as soon as they find out about the availability of seats on Southwest Airlines.
- Once you get the information that your request has been approved, you will only need to pay the fare difference if your upgrade was slightly more expensive.
- You will receive a confirmation request on your registered email ID as soon as you finish the payment.
- To put it out there, the airline only allows its passengers to request an upgrade from economy class to Business select or business class. So, do not expect to upgrade straight to the first class cabin.
Different Ways to Request For an Upgrade at Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines permits its passengers to request an upgrade using different methods. You can either opt for the online method, or you can use the traditional offline method. Either way, the choice is yours. Here are some of the ways by which one can request a refund:-
1. Request For Upgrade Via Customer Care Service
For Southwest Airlines Upgrade using customer service, make sure to follow the below-listed steps:-
- To begin, you can start by calling the official number, which you can find on the official website of Southwest Airlines.
- Enter your details, such as your ticket number, confirmation number, reference number, etc., and ask the agent to upgrade your flight.
- Next, request an upgrade, and if you want, inquire about the available options.
- In the end, the agent will provide details regarding the availability of seats & and how much you need to pay for an upgrade due to fare differences.
Now, some decisions are taken right at the moment. That is why you can request a Southwest Airlines refund at the airport. Here are some points about how you can do it:-
- The first thing you need to know is if any upgrade seats are available on your next scheduled flight. The passengers can also request a flight upgrade at the Southwest Airlines ticket counter or gate.
- You must know about the available seats as soon as you get the confirmation from Southwest Airlines. For more details, you can ask the gate agent if there’s any possibility for a seat upgrade or flight upgrade.
- Next, enter your personal information, such as ticket number, confirmation number, and flight details.
- Once you get the confirmation regarding your upgrade request being approved, you must pay the necessary fare difference.
- Lastly, the airline will notify you about your flight upgrade as well as your seat upgrade.
There is yet another way by which anyone can get upgraded: by requesting the upgrade using customer service. Here’s what you have to do:-
- Your first step would be to call the airline at their official number.
- Then, you can enter your reservation, confirmation number, and other personal details to the customer care representative.
- Now, the passengers can request a flight upgrade and inquire about seat availability.
- Lastly, the customer care agent will ask you to pay the fare difference between your tickets. You will receive a confirmation email on your registered email ID as soon as you finish that.
Remember, the upgrade is subject to seat availability, and sometimes, you may still need to get upgraded; it depends on the plane.
Southwest Airlines Upgrade Cost?
Southwest flight upgrade costs may differ depending on factors such as your fare type and ticket. Now, remember that you will know about the overall price for an upgrade flight even before you start the flight upgrade procedure. If you want to get upgraded to Wanna Getaway, you must pay ten times more than you normally pay for your flight. And the same thing would happen if you purchased the anytime fare ticket.
What you can do instead is, if you have already bought yourself a wanna-get away ticket or anytime ticket and you have chosen to upgrade yourself, you will not have to pay any additional. All you have to do is pay for the fare difference.
What You Can Do Instead of Upgrading Your Southwest Flight?
There are many alternative options that you can use in place of upgrading your seat to Business Select fare. Here’s what you can do:-
- The passengers can pay extra for their boarding service upgrade instead of upgrading themselves to business select. Remember, the boarding upgrade service fee may differ, costing you between $30 to $80/per passenger.
- Apart from this, you can buy yourself early bird check-in, then you may have to pay at least $15 to 25 dollars per passenger. Once you have bought this for yourself, you do not have to rush while checking in.
- Instead, the Southwest airline will check-in its passengers at least 36 hours before their scheduled departure. Remember, the airline will not provide you with an A boarding but will give you more options while selecting your seats. You will get priority boarding, and the passengers can purchase their early-bird check-in tickets from the Southwest website.
What is Known to be the Best Way to Get your Desired Seat?
Want to get your desired seat on board? To do so, you can ask for a seat upgrade in your preferred class, but to get your hands on a particular seat, you have to do a lot more than ask for a refund. As you may know by now, most airlines go by the whoever-comes-the-first-gets-the-prize rule, indicating that you cannot get your favorite by simply requesting it. Hence, you have to put in a lot more work.
To your advantage, we have filtered out a few tricks to help you get your desired seat on board;-
1. Get Your Desired Seat By Checking-in Online
Have you ever thought you could get your desired seat by simply checking in online? Southwest Airlines has made it easier for its passengers to get their hands on their desired seats. All passengers must check in at least 24 hours before boarding to select their seats as advised. “Cause the earlier you check-in, the earlier the airline will assign you your desired seats.”
2. Fly Early, Get Your Hands on the Early Bird Check-in
The Passengers can buy an early bird check-in, which allows the passengers to check-in as early as 36 hours before their scheduled flight. This will give you a better seating plan, and the airline will put your needs before anyone else’s.
3. When in Doubt, Get Business Upgrade
According to the Southwest airline check-in policy, the passengers will be seated on the aisle of A1-A15, and by this, you can get your hands on your preferred seat that you have been waiting for a while.
4. Subscribe to the Rapid Rewards Program
Things become easier if you are a well-known member of the Rapid Rewards program. Therefore, the members of Southwest Airlines can use their points to buy themselves upgraded seat options. Thus, the passengers can upgrade their seats from economy to Business select or first class position.
Before upgrading your Southwest flight, remember that Southwest Airlines has no assigned seating program. They have a rather open seating policy that permits their passengers to get their hands on their desired seats.
Concluding Thoughts
If you want to upgrade your flight, then there are many things that you must keep in mind while requesting a Southwest Airlines upgrade. To make this easier for you, we have explained all the related dos & don’ts you must follow when requesting a flight upgrade. To find more information on this topic, please refer to the abovementioned content. Thus, if you have any related queries, please email us at [info@toursntravelpro.com] or contact us using our live chat facility.
