Congratulations! If you’re reading this, there’s a high likelihood that Joe sent you here personally, and you probably have the incredible opportunity to travel FOR FREE on one of our wonderful LUV planes! You get to experience the wonder that is non-revenue travel. The world is your oyster! Where do you want to go? Orlando? SoCal? San Juan? Montana? Hawaii? Boston? Aruba? Wherever the first plane is going? Can you go? The answer is YES! And you can fly FIRST CLASS!* YOU CAN TOTALLY GO THERE!**
*- (At SWA, all of our seats are “first class,” even those middle seats!)
**- (That is, if there is an open seat for you–even those middle seats!)
All kidding aside–non-revving is one heck of a thing–it changes the way you look at the world. The world becomes a LOT smaller. Do you think your grandfather could imagine deciding on a whim to get across the country and then make it happen in a couple of hours? Unless you have some Lindbergh blood in you, I doubt it.
First of all, let me remind you that non-rev travel is a privilege, and not a right. And if you’re flying on one of my buddy passes, that means that what you do reflects on me. (Yes, me, personally.) So, I trust you. Please behave. This isn’t the venue to stage a protest mid-air. (Or pre-flight. Or post-flight. Or at all.)
Now that we got that out of the way, here’s what you need to know to get started with your first non-rev voyage.
To Get Listed On The Flight
I’ll be your travel agent for your trip! To get you listed, e-mail me the following information.
- Your full, legal name as it appears on your government ID.
- Your birthday (including the year).
- Your e-mail address, which will receive a copy of the confirmation number & reservation.
- Your cell phone number, which will be texted if your flight gets cancelled, you get bumped, or your boarding passes are issued.
- Your KTN (Known Traveler Number), if you have one. This is the same thing as your global entry number or TSA PreCheck number.
- Your Redress Number, if you have one. (You most likely don’t.)
- Your Southwest Rapid Rewards Number. If you don’t have one, be sure to scoop one up here prior to having me make your reservation.
If you haven’t told me already, you’ll want to also describe to me where you’d like to go, and how flexible you are on dates / times. (If you absolutely must get from point A to point B on a particular flight, non-rev may not be your “jam.”) If you’re going to a big city with multiple airports (like Los Angeles), let me know if there are any particular airports in the city that you prefer to end up in.
With this information, I’ll help you make better decisions on flight selection / schedules / etc. to try and ensure that your experience will be a good one, and I’ll list you on the flight(s) that we pick. Generally speaking, with respect to non-revenue travel, fortune favors those who start earlier in the day and if you’re going to take a chance getting on a flight, it’s better to take your chances on the outbound flight(s) rather than the inbound flight(s).
After You’re “Listed”
You’ll receive a couple of “confirmation numbers” from Southwest, which will come in two separate e-mails. You’ll receive one for your outbound flight, and one for your inbound flight. To fly each way, you’ll need your ID and these numbers, so keep track of them carefully.
If you’ve included your Southwest Rapid Rewards Number in your initial information to me, you’ll be able to see them in your Southwest app on your smartphone. If you don’t have the app, download it now (iOS / Android). This app will become very useful the day of your travel.
Approximately 2-3 Days Before Your Flight
Contact me to check the number of seats open on each leg of your flight. (If the seats don’t look good, I’ll re-book you to something that will more likely get you where you’re wanting to go.)
24 Hours Before Your Flight
At exactly 23 hours, 59 minutes, and 55 seconds (in other words, 24 hours minus 5 seconds) before your flight:
- Either use your Southwest Mobile App or the Southwest.com website to check in for your flight. Enter your full first and last name, and that little confirmation number I mentioned previously. Then, check in as you would normally check in for a flight.
Note: the sooner you are able to successfully “check in,” the better your chances are of getting on a plane. No pressure or anything. - When you complete the process, you will NOT have a boarding pass—but a “security document” that resembles one. (Note: this document WILL tell you if you got TSA PreCheck or not. Plan accordingly.)
- If you checked in on your computer, you can print the security document from your computer. (Don’t waste the paper, though, honestly.)
- If you checked in on your smartphone, you’ll be able to pull the security documents up on your Southwest app.
- If your smartphone is an iPhone, you’ll even be able to add your security documents to your Apple Wallet OR pull them up in the Southwest app.
After checking in for your flight, you’ll be able to see the standby list order on your smartphone app. (Note—the standby list will change. Just because you’re on top of the list 24 hours out doesn’t mean you will be on top of the list when they’re clearing the standby list.)
On The Day Of Your Flight
When you non-rev, Wear something nice. You don’t have to wear your Sunday best or anything–but don’t wear your pajamas.
Also, I recommend packing as light as you can. The less you pack, the faster and easier you can move. If you have to dart from the end of one terminal to another quickly, it’s a lot easier if you’ve brought a lot less stuff. (For the same reason, I also recommend wearing closed-toe shoes. This is also a good idea when you fly in general.)
Of course, don’t plan on checking a bag. (A carry-on should be fine, though.) Remember: if you’re non-revving, you’re flying for free. So, if the ramp loses your bag–sorry, but you’re on your own!
120 to 90 Minutes Before Your Flight
Arrive at the airport, go through security, and treat your security document just like your boarding pass. Hang around in the airport until 60 minutes before your flight is scheduled to leave, ignoring any delays. (Example: If your flight is at 3 PM, but it is delayed until 3:30 PM, show up at the airport between 1 and 1:30 PM, and plan on getting to the gate at 2 PM). Check out the shops in the airport, get your food, and go to the bathroom. Then, head to your gate.
60 Minutes Before Your Flight
Approach the agent(s) at the gate counter 60 minutes before your flight is scheduled to leave. When you get to the front of the line, tell the gate agent (as nice & friendly as you can), “Hi there, I’m trying to non-rev to ____ on Southwest flight number ____.” (Or something to that effect.) Hand them your government-issued picture ID and the picture ID of anyone else in your party.
Now, things get interesting.
The Hour of Truth
At this point, one of 2 things can happen.
- The gate agent “clears” you for your flight, hands you a boarding pass, and tells you to have a nice flight. Thank them and sit down. Skip ahead to the next section.
- The gate agent will tell you “I can’t clear you yet” and generally gives you some other feedback regarding your chances for getting on the flight. They may say something like “…but it looks pretty good, so check back in with me in about 20 minutes,” or “We’re pretty full, but there’s still 4 people that haven’t checked in for the flight, so we’ll keep an eye on it,” or they could say something like “…it really looks bad–we’re weight restricted and oversold by 2 seats, so you’re probably not going to get on.”
Either way, if you have gate check items (strollers, carseats, etc.), let them know ahead of time so they know what’s up. (If they start to tag your gate check items, that’s generally a good sign of your chances of getting on the flight.) Of course, make sure that all of your items (yes, even your carry-ons) have an ID tag on them–those are available at the gate as well, if you don’t have one on your item.
Stay in the gate area, keep an eye on your text messages, and listen for gate announcements. You don’t want to miss the gate agents paging you to give you a boarding pass…
30 Minutes Before Your Flight
We start boarding our flights about 30 minutes before their departure. Get your stuff together and get ready to go on the aircraft–even if you don’t have a boarding pass yet.
If you do have a boarding pass, get on the plane as you normally would. If you have a boarding pass that is B or C boarding group and are traveling with a child / children 6 years of age and younger, you may board after the A group following the family boarding rules, regardless of your boarding position. In this case, go get in line with the families in the family boarding area.
Again, if you don’t have a boarding pass, hang around the gate and listen carefully.
10 Minutes Before Your Flight
At this point, if people haven’t checked in for their flight, they are at risk for losing their seat. (This is called the “10 minute rule” to those in the know.) Hopefully you’re on the plane at this point.
If not, hang around the gate counter and monitor the situation. If boarding gets to the C group and you haven’t heard from the gate agent, it wouldn’t hurt to follow up with them again and see how things are looking. If you aren’t able to get a boarding pass, skip down to the section called, “Oh no! I got bumped!”
On The Plane
Congrats! You’ve got a seat! If you’re at the very tail end of the C boarding group and one of the last people getting on the plane, immediately start looking for a place to store your larger carryon bag in the overhead bins. (Save your personal item for stowage under the seat in front of your seat.) Put your bigger bag wherever you can find a spot, and preferably towards the front of the plane–even if it’s nowhere near your eventual seat. If you can’t find a spot for your bags, or all the overhead bins are closed, ask one of the flight attendants for assistance. Hopefully they won’t have to check your bag.
As for finding a seat, if you’re at the end of the C boarding group, take a spot wherever you’re able to find one. (At Southwest, we joke that “C” stands for “Center.”) If you were one of the lucky ones and managed to get a better boarding position than a C group, you should always first try to locate a seat towards the rear of the plane. A good trick here is if seats are filling up and a flight attendant is standing in an aisle seat (usually around the exit row), trying to stay out of the way of passengers boarding the flight, you may want to ask them if that seat is taken. If they say that it isn’t, nab it! Remember–all of the seats on a Southwest plane are “first class”–even those middle seats!
As always, be very nice and professional to everyone, use your best manners, and have a nice flight!
Oh No, I Got “Bumped!”
Tough luck! It happens to the best of us. As they say, “no risk-it, no biscuit.”
In this circumstance, after the flight departs, be very nice to the gate agent (after all, it’s not their fault you got bumped!) and ask them what your best flight options are. If you want to tweak your destination, you can do that as well. Simply ask them nicely if you could be moved over to (insert flight number here) leaving at (insert departure time here) and going to (insert destination here). They should be able to accommodate.
If All Else Fails…
If they can’t help, or you’re otherwise stuck or have questions, give me a call and I should be able to help.
Until next time, fellow non-revvers–may the standby list be ever in your favor!
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