Southwest Airlines to test assigned seating

wheelsup

wheelsup

Well-Known Member
DALLAS - Southwest Airlines Co. will test assigning seats to travelers, another indication that the maverick carrier may get in line with other U.S. airlines by junking its first-come, first-served seating system.

Passengers will be assigned seats on about 200 flights from San Diego for several weeks beginning July 10, an airline spokesman said Tuesday.


The airline wants to know if assigning seats will slow down Southwest’s ability to unload incoming planes and board passengers for the next flight. It takes Southwest about 25 minutes on average to turn a plane around. Any delay can add to the airline’s costs.


Southwest is already updating its computerized reservation system to handle assigned seating and international flights. Chief Executive Gary Kelly has said neither change is definite, and that Southwest won’t eliminate what it calls “open seating” until late next year, at the earliest.


“We want to make sure that we have studied all the possibilities and aspects of assigned seating before we make any change to what has been a very successful formula for the past 35 years,” Kelly said in a statement Tuesday.


Travelers on Southwest flights board in three groups, with priority given to those who get boarding passes first — up to 24 hours before the flight.
Priority boarding passes are so valued that some customers pay Web sites to check in electronically and secure a Group A pass. In May, Southwest filed a lawsuit in federal district court in Dallas against one of the Web sites and has asked more than a dozen others to stop handling electronic check-ins for customers.


During the San Diego test, passengers will be called ahead of time and told to check in at the gate for an assigned seat, said Southwest spokesman Ed Stewart.


“We’re going to take a look at this and see if it improves overall operational efficiency and see whether it customers are still smiling,” Stewart said. “We really want to know how it affects turn times.”


San Diego was selected — and only for outbound flights — because of its mix of short, medium and long flights, Stewart said. The airport is Dallas-based Southwest’s 10th busiest, with 92 daily departures from 10 gates to 15 cities.
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You should hear ATC and ramp yell at southwest in PIT. They get their @ss handed to them evertime I'm up there. I think there is way too much pressure on those pilots to save time. Maybe this will relieve some of that pressure?
 
I dont think its a bad idea at all. I think it will cut down on the overbooking. I dont use SW much but when I do they seem to have this problem everytime Im on a SW flight. I mean jeez they even made a show about it :)
 
I flew Southwest about a dozen times last year, and I enjoyed every flight. We were always on time, the boarding process was very fast, the people pleasant and the aircraft very clean. I think what they had going appeared to work on the outside, but maybe inside operations it wasn't too good. Anyway, SW is my favorite carrier and probably my top major to work for. I'd love to land a job there, seems like a very good company that treats their employees with the respect they deserve. Unfortunately thats not the case with most employers.
 
I don't think they'll get rid of it...

Think about how long it takes people to find seat 17C, put their bag in the overhead, sit down, etc, all while everyone waits. In a perfect loading situation, seat assignment is faster, but in reality, I doubt it is.
 
If only the airlines loaded like the Army...

Rear to the front, every seat filled, keep your bags on your lap till the whole plane is loaded, then you get 2 minutes to store them. My old 1SG could have a 777 loaded in 5 minutes.
 
ChinookDriver said:
If only the airlines loaded like the Army...

Rear to the front, every seat filled, keep your bags on your lap till the whole plane is loaded, then you get 2 minutes to store them. My old 1SG could have a 777 loaded in 5 minutes.
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LMAO, How funny would that be to watch a bunch of pax getting herded like cattle. :)
 
Max likes...Depending on where I'm flying I fly SWA a lot. And honestly the only thing that I hated about flying them was no assigned seating. I hated having to get to the airport early just to get an "A" boarding pass. And I hate getting a "C" because it's always so hard to find a seat when the plane is going out full.

More especially a window seat. Because I'm a PPL rated pilot with 150 hours...geez. I'm used to flying planes and seeing out the window. I mean "don't they know!"

:)
 
Thats true but with the drill sgt attitude. Something like this

FA - I SAID BACK TO FRONT YOU IDIOT. PAY ATTENTION!
PAX - But I was
FA - BUH BUH BUH SHUT UP AND SIT THE #### DOWN!
FA - WHAT ARE LOOKING AT LITTLE MAN! aww YOU WANNA CRY. TOO BAD THIS ISNT A ####ING FUNERAL!! SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP!
 
Maximillian_Jenius said:
Max likes...Depending on where I'm flying I fly SWA a lot. And honestly the only thing that I hated about flying them was no assigned seating. I hated having to get to the airport early just to get an "A" boarding pass. And I hate getting a "C" because it's always so hard to find a seat when the plane is going out full.

More especially a window seat. Because I'm a PPL rated pilot with 150 hours...geez. I'm used to flying planes and seeing out the window. I mean "don't they know!"

:)
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Man I love it when an old thread surfaces!

(You get it this time, Max?):)
 
Maximillian_Jenius said:
Max likes...Depending on where I'm flying I fly SWA a lot. And honestly the only thing that I hated about flying them was no assigned seating. I hated having to get to the airport early just to get an "A" boarding pass. And I hate getting a "C" because it's always so hard to find a seat when the plane is going out full.

More especially a window seat. Because I'm a PPL rated pilot with 150 hours...geez. I'm used to flying planes and seeing out the window. I mean "don't they know!"

:)
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HAHA, thats cold......

but back to the topic, It will be intresting to see how this turns out. NW just changed their boarding process to board all rows at once, they said it saved 5-10 minutes. I wonder how they will board with assigned seats.
 
Funny thing.....SouthWest adds assigned seating and NWA gets rid of assigned boarding.... Board when ever you wish.....They swear it saves time......
 
I just took southwest to get up here (LAS) and i gotta say, it was a damn nice flight...clean planes, nice girls, good service, wider seats than a 757...and the one hour flight was the bomb diggity!!! gotta love not having to connect thru a hub!!
 
Kristie said:
I just took southwest to get up here (LAS) and i gotta say, it was a damn nice flight...clean planes, nice girls, good service, wider seats than a 757...and the one hour flight was the bomb diggity!!! gotta love not having to connect thru a hub!!
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Did you pay for your ticket or I9? And your right about WN I alway fly them to NJC!
 
I hope it attracts more flyers.... might not save time though. Difficult decision to make. Southwest has tended to stick with what works for them: quick(er) turns, high a/c and crew utilization, etc.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

http://www.setlovefree.com
 
All rows at once or the military way will beat assigned or non-assigned one fraction at a time any day. Both of the latter take up extra time because there is a pause between calling people up.

At first, you'd think that's bogus because anyone would know that the agents can just keep things rolling by calling the next section before the current is on the way down the jetway. But, on average, there will be some people that won't be ready to board for one reason or another. Telling everyone they can board will get everyone getting ready at the same time. That's why the military does things that way. They know they have to adjust for the people that are the most behind.

People hate "hurry up and wait", though. What can you do? Alot of people today don't have "cooperate" in their daily activities.
 
blee256 said:
HAHA, thats cold......

but back to the topic, It will be intresting to see how this turns out. NW just changed their boarding process to board all rows at once, they said it saved 5-10 minutes. I wonder how they will board with assigned seats.
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Does it really save time to board all at once? I had never doen that till I started flying on Alaska to Spokane at my previous job. They would say "All rows boarding" after they boarded first class, babies, old people needing assistance and frequent fliers.

Suddenly, there would be this mad rush and it felt like we waited longer. Not to mention that some lazy passengers who sat further back would put their bags in bins further up so those of us who got there later didn't have any space or had to put out carry-ons in the back. Then we'd have to wait after landing to get our bag since we can't walk against traffic.
 
falconvalley said:
All rows at once or the military way will beat assigned or non-assigned one fraction at a time any day. Both of the latter take up extra time because there is a pause between calling people up.

.....But, on average, there will be some people that won't be ready to board for one reason or another. Telling everyone they can board will get everyone getting ready at the same time. That's why the military does things that way. They know they have to adjust for the people that are the most behind.
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I dont think thats the reasoning because no matter how you call them the board the jetway still gets backed up. THe thinking is that people take there seats throughout the whole cabin. Not the 10 people in the boarding group all sitting in rows 30, 31, and 32 and getting bunched up while the rows 10-29 sit empty.
 
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