Southwest no longer doing open seating

If I'm only flying domestically, I'll check in 24 hours before and usually get a high A or low B boarding group, it's still a good spot to be in to get a seat in the front half of the plane. I set an alarm on my phone 5 minutes ahead of the 24-hour start time and use the Southwest app to check in, it automatically checks in everyone in your group. I like the legroom on Southwest so I don't worry about exit row seats.

One time when we were in Vegas I checked in 24 hours ahead of time and we got C group, I couldn't figure out why until we arrived at the airport and saw a large group of CSU students at the gate. They had been at a college engineering contest and were all returning to Denver. So I paid $50 each for my wife and me to board A1-15, and watched a parade of CSU Ram sweatshirts, hats, and t-shirts go by after we boarded.

The Southwest Airlines Visa Premier card offers 2 free Early Bird check-in per year with a $95 annual fee and the Southwest Visa Priority offers 4 free upgraded boardings per year with a $149 annual fee.

I always set an alarm and check in at the 24 hour mark.  This usually results in a high A or low B boarding slot.  Approximately A45-B30.

Like you, PJ, I like redeye flights home to Indy.  It's been a long time since we've had one.

I haven't taken a red-eye in some time. I can't sleep on planes, so it's just 4 hours of misery from Vegas to Indy.

I'm a big fan of SWA and always get early bird to ensure an aisle seat, but over the last couple of years I've found myself with later and later boarding pass numbers despite the extra cost. I'm thinking I'd prefer being able to pick my seat as long as it isn't much more than what I'm already paying for early bird.

I will really miss the open seating.  Since all our flights have been covered by points and a companion pass since 1997, I never minded paying for early bird.  We almost always end up in the first 15 rows.  I suspect that our using points may end up putting us in the back when assigned seats come along.

That's the million-dollar question, they're switching to improved revenue, and we'll have to see how they structure their pricing.

This is about their revenue margins, of course. We've always bought the Early Bird options which allowed boarding among the first 60 passengers; things change. It'll be telling if SWA begins to charge for baggage.