How does early bird check in work for southwest?

EarlyBird Check-In Customers will have their boarding positions reserved beginning 36 hours prior to their flight's scheduled departure time. Boarding Passes can be accessed beginning 24 hours prior to the flight's scheduled local departure time. ... Purchase Early Bird Check-In here. read more

Then the Early Bird buyers, then the boarding passes are assigned based upon check-in times. I fly at least once per week, so I am A-List preferred, but if I happen to be on a flight with lots of business travelers or flying commuters (Monday mornings/Friday afternoons), I often end up with an A boarding spot between 35 and 50. read more

With Early Bird check in, Southwest will automatically check you into your flight at exactly 24 hours prior to the flights departure time. You will receive a better boarding number than those who manually check-in (unless they have status). read more