Southwest Promises To Fix Glitch That Scraps Priority Boarding For Frequent Fliers

Although there’s no first-class seating on Southwest Airlines, members in the top tiers of the carrier’s frequent flier program do get one important perk when it comes time to get on the plane: Priority boarding, which means that they’re usually among the first in line. But a recent glitch has taken that benefit away for many passengers lately, ticking a lot of them off in the process.

For those unfamiliar, Southwest doesn’t assign seats to its passengers, but instead assigns boarding groups — A, B, or C — and numbers, depending on when travelers check in. But frequent fliers who’ve earned elite status in either the A-List Preferred or A-List tier are automatically checked in for their flights ahead of other travelers, and are usually assigned boarding numbers early in the A group.

The system is down

Over the past few days, however, many of these frequent fliers complained that they were getting assigned higher numbers on their boarding passes — including assignments in the C group.

This is not going over well.

@SouthwestAir not happy with southwest – my a list status gets me a B53 boarding pass and when I call the answer: it's a known issue.

— JohnG (@whcanet) August 11, 2017

Southwest Airlines.
A list preferred gets B boarding pass?

"System glitch."

"Call customer service. Oh, they're closed on Sunday."

— Mabel Carr (@carr_mabel) August 13, 2017

@SouthwestAir how long do your most loyalty customers get screwed out of boarding priority?2 days in a row 60+ ppl in front of us #southwest

— Anonumonymous (@GeddysPal) August 14, 2017

When no one who has A list gets an A boarding position…chaos at Southwest gates! 50 people board between two groups #blessed

— Kelsi Cooke (@kelsicooke) August 15, 2017

@southwestair very unhappy about having a "B" boarding pass when I have "A" list status! Wassup Southwest?

— Tom Becker (@tcbecker) August 14, 2017

Our bad

Southwest has told customers on Twitter that boarding assignments are the result of “technical issues,” and that they’re working to resolve those problems.

We're sorry about the boarding position. Some Tiered Members are having trouble receiving A boarding passes. We apologize (1/2) ^KJ

— Southwest Airlines (@SouthwestAir) August 15, 2017

We're working to get the technical issues resolved, and we're so sorry for your frustration in the process, Tom. Hang in there! ^MK

— Southwest Airlines (@SouthwestAir) August 14, 2017

AZCentral notes that travelers who pay for the EarlyBird Check In option have not been affected.

What to do?

We’ve asked Southwest for more information on what frequent fliers should do if they find themselves with non-priority boarding assignment, and will update this post if we hear back. In the meantime, AZCentral points out that some travelers who noticed the assignment problem before they get to the airport have had success getting their boarding passes manually updated by Southwest customer service.

It’s also worth noting that A-List and A-List Preferred members are always allowed to board after the A group and before the B group, regardless of their boarding assignment.

Of course, when it comes to glitches, Southwest has seen worse: In July 2016, Southwest was hit by a massive, days-long — and very expensive — outage disrupting 2,000 flights and spoiling travel plans for countless passengers.