Post all SW questions concerns, etc. here...

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

My husband just got this e-mail

View attachment 1051814

The rest was just explaining a reminder of what the A-list Preferred benefits were.

I also got an e-mail which omits the A-list Preferred part since I don't have that status. I assume everyone else who is a rapid rewards member will/have gotten this as well.

This is what I'm talking about (see above last bullet point).

They've already been doing stuff like telling people to put their bags above their seats, locking the bins and only opening them for when someone is coming to their seat, etc. My comment and picture was strictly an example of what SWA notified via e-mail they would be doing.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

We flew home from MCO this past Wednesday and we boarded in group 5 even though we were in row 6. They were putting the window seat passengers in group 3. We also had a FA stop someone who was trying to sit in a row 6 seat when he had bought a ticket with a row 12 seat.

Were you in an Extra Legroom seat or Preferred seat? Row 6 can have both. I'm referring to just Extra Legroom seats (and in my husband's case also A-List Preferred). What was happening a lot before is rows 4-6-ish on Extra Legroom was having Boarding Group 1 (depending on the flight) and rows 1-3 were having Group 2 and that was causing havoc with overhead bin space. They are seemingly experimenting with swapping that.

 

[focusondisney]

Husband is on a flight from Denver to Boise on a 700 series and here's what it reflects for the at the moment "march only" sign

Thanks for the picture. But I interpret this part of the email to mean this signs will be going on during the month of March. Not that they’ll be there for “March only”. I expect the signs will be permanently over these seats, like they are on Jetblue.

“Throughout the month of March, we are adding signage to the bins above our Extra Legroom seats to reserve them”

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Thanks for the picture. But I interpret this part of the email to mean this signs will be going on during the month of March. Not that they’ll be there for “March only”. I expect the signs will be permanently over these seats, like they are on Jetblue.

“Throughout the month of March, we are adding signage to the bins above our Extra Legroom seats to reserve them”

We thought that too but also thought only. I think you're right (and hope too!) that it's that they will be installing them during March. Husband hypothesized the 700 series could be prioritized since it has the even older style bin space which is smaller than what many of us are used to nowadays but that's just his thoughts with the planes he's been on (I've lost count how many planes he's been on since the assigned seating started).

 

[Wood Nymph]

Were you in an Extra Legroom seat or Preferred seat? Row 6 can have both. I'm referring to just Extra Legroom seats (and in my husband's case also A-List Preferred). What was happening a lot before is rows 4-6-ish on Extra Legroom was having Boarding Group 1 (depending on the flight) and rows 1-3 were having Group 2 and that was causing havoc with overhead bin space. They are seemingly experimenting with swapping that.

Seas 6D and 6E were just preferred seats. But I think a lot of baggage storage problems for the front of the plane could be solved if they boarded people according to seat location rather than these boarding groups that put a row 6 passenger in group 5.

 

[focusondisney]

Husband hypothesized the 700 series could be prioritized since it has the even older style bin space which is smaller than what many of us are used to nowadays but that's just his thoughts with the planes he's been on

That makes perfect sense, I’m sure he’s right.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Seas 6D and 6E were just preferred seats. But I think a lot of baggage storage problems for the front of the plane could be solved if they boarded people according to seat location rather than these boarding groups that put a row 6 passenger in group 5.

Yeah that would explain the higher boarding group but I am in total agreeance on the boarding groups I'm not enamored with the way SWA has been doing this and I don't have much leeway to give them.

I do think however that people in Extra Legroom seats and A-List Preferred (and honestly A-list) should board first, the amount of money spent should denote that if SWA wants to be like other airlines where status and type of seat dictate when you board. But the way they opted to do the whole thing is just a cluster like in a case where a row has a split of two different seat categories for smoothness (both on getting settled in the seat and overhead bin space) so long as someone didn't purchase a Basic ticket I feel like then the next group to board should be the one that would fill in that split row.

Given the fact that regular A-list doesn't even guarantee you anything except no later than Group 5 unless you purchase an Extra Legroom seat already told me how SWA views their customers.