Southwest to have assigned seating

[BrightMorningStar]

So many people purchase EBCI now. We have purchased EBCI and had a B40 or B50 and we typically purchase airfare the day it is released and add EBCI at the time. That is a good indication of how much they sell.

If SWA can charge you $25 each way for EBCI or add another $25 to your flight each way by allowing you to select your seat (ditching EBCI), they are losing nothing and many passengers will be happy with the changes due to the issues with family boarding, pre-boarding, seat saving, etc.

 

[BrightMorningStar]

I always buy EBCI. One time there was an especially large contingent of wheel chairs needing assistance to board. I had an early A number and got on to find all these wheel chairs sitting in the exit row.

I have a level of claustrophobia where I NEED and aisle and prefer an exit row.

I asked the FA, I thought to sit in the exit row you had to have a certain level of mobility, every one of these people took a wheel chair onboard. She made them all move.

Trying to have it both ways can be a problem sometimes.

That is a fail of the FAs as they are boarding. As you noted, pre-boarders are not allowed to sit in the exit row. The FAs should have been telling them "no" as they were walking down the aisles. Glad they were told to move, but it should not have been an issue to start with.

I believe things like this are the very reasons SWA is changing. Too many selfish and me-centric people who feel entitled.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

So many people purchase EBCI now. We have purchased EBCI and had a B40 or B50 and we typically purchase airfare the day it is released and add EBCI at the time. That is a good indication of how much they sell.

If SWA can charge you $25 each way for EBCI or add another $25 to your flight each way, they are losing nothing and many passengers will be happy with the changes due to the issues with family boarding, pre-boarding, seat saving, etc.

It's a bit more complicated than just looking at raw EBCI.

To name a few if you are A-list then people on your reservation are now given sequential boarding position with you, Anytime Fares now include EBCI, WGA+ introduced which has higher priority to WGA in terms of EBCI.

To give you an example like I mentioned with my husband who flies a lot for business and presently has A-list, you may have purchased EBCI the day the flight was released but he has higher priority over you even with WGA (this is all presently speaking) even with purchasing a flight a week or two out.

SWA did know they had an issue with EBCI as in people started getting worse and worse and did announce they would limit how many could purchase EBCI based on route, how often that is coming up is anyone's guess but based on the main SWA thread it doesn't seem to be too too often, however on that main thread a good amount of posters have advised they started purchasing Anytime Fares which again now come with EBCI.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

That is a fail of the FAs as they are boarding. As you noted, pre-boarders are not allowed to sit in the exit row. The FAs should have been telling them "no" as they were walking down the aisles. Glad they were told to move, but it should not have been an issue to start with.

I believe things like this are the very reasons SWA is changing. Too many selfish and me-centric people who feel entitled.

I'm not necessarily willing to assign such terrible attributes to people en masse. There are for sure a collective shift in people but not every time you see something does it mean people are awful.

When obtaining your pre-boarding boarding pass at the counter the agent should be telling you you cannot sit in the exit row although it is on SWA's website as well.

I agree the FAs should be the ones to police and sometimes they may not be as good as they should but I also know that FAs can get busy and aren't always able to see when each and every passenger sat down never mind if that is during pre-board and sometimes passengers are simply unaware (especially if they were not told when they got their pre-boarding pass). I still see families with young children try to sit in the exit row and that defies logic IMO but alas occurs once in a while.

It was pretty easy for the FAs to disqualify people from sitting in the exit row on our Puerto Rico flights because when they started asking them questions there was a clear lack of understanding English but it would take the FAs to watch each and every passenger and to know when pre-boarding had stopped to catch all if the issue was just a pre-boarder. If a plane has a lot of pre-boarders it's pretty easy to have some slip through.

 

[scard192]

Yup! We have paid for EBCI and watched families load before us because we got an early B.

our flight out of MCO in April. Paid for EBCI for my family of 5, we got B1-B5 so had a good look at family boarding. There were at least 5-6 families that boarded with Family boarding that clearly did not qualify. Children older than six. parents with kids under 6 and extra adults boarded with them. Gate agent made some comments like "so you are under 6". "who is this with you? extended family?". when it was our turn he looked at me, shook his head and said "ridiculous".
seemed clear he wasn't happy. Maybe they are not allowed to stop with those who should not have been in family boarding.

swore I would never fly SW again after I paid for ECBI for all the members in my family and then watched "cheaters" board ahead of us for free. I might reconsider now.

 

[focusondisney]

That is a fail of the FAs as they are boarding. As you noted, pre-boarders are not allowed to sit in the exit row. The FAs should have been telling them "no" as they were walking down the aisles. Glad they were told to move, but it should not have been an issue to start with.

I believe things like this are the very reasons SWA is changing. Too many selfish and me-centric people who feel entitled.

Yea, something’s not right if preboarders were in exit rows. We’ve been purchasing Business Select the last 2 years & have gotten A1 & 2 several times. The gate agent will tell us to let the first flight attendant know we’re the beginning of general boarding. That flight attendant has always announced on the intercom “general boarding beginning with the man in the blue shirt” for example. Also, as we get on the plane, there is always a flight attendant standing in 1 of the exit rows & that person moves out of the row as general boarding starts. It’s pretty clear they were blocking the rows from preboarders.

 

[Sparrow'sLady]

our flight out of MCO in April. Paid for EBCI for my family of 5, we got B1-B5 so had a good look at family boarding. There were at least 5-6 families that boarded with Family boarding that clearly did not qualify. Children older than six. parents with kids under 6 and extra adults boarded with them. Gate agent made some comments like "so you are under 6". "who is this with you? extended family?". when it was our turn he looked at me, shook his head and said "ridiculous".
seemed clear he wasn't happy. Maybe they are not allowed to stop with those who should not have been in family boarding.

swore I would never fly SW again after I paid for ECBI for all the members in my family and then watched "cheaters" board ahead of us for free. I might reconsider now.

Yeah, I have seen that quite a few times. It is ridiculous. If they have a rule, the employees should be able to enforce it.

My SILs husband did it coming back from Cabo and I said something to him. He did not appreciate it, but I did not care. HIs daughter he was getting on with was 12 or 13!!

 

[LoveToDisney]

…..as we get on the plane, there is always a flight attendant standing in 1 of the exit rows & that person moves out of the row as general boarding starts. It’s pretty clear they were blocking the rows from preboarders.

I have seen this, as well. It’s a shame they have to do it but there are people who continually believe the rules don’t apply to them.

 

[MinnieMSue]

Yea, something’s not right if preboarders were in exit rows. We’ve been purchasing Business Select the last 2 years & have gotten A1 & 2 several times. The gate agent will tell us to let the first flight attendant know we’re the beginning of general boarding. That flight attendant has always announced on the intercom “general boarding beginning with the man in the blue shirt” for example. Also, as we get on the plane, there is always a flight attendant standing in 1 of the exit rows & that person moves out of the row as general boarding starts. It’s pretty clear they were blocking the rows from preboarders.

This is what I have experienced too. I have seen the flight attendants being very strict with keeping pre boards out of exit row. They announce it and stand there in the exit row. They ask each person if they are capable of performing the exit row duties and their age if it is a question. Once a school group was on our flight and a teen switched with another into the exit seat after the flight attendants questioned each person and had them verbally agree that they were willing and able to perform the functions. Anyway the flight attendant came flying up from the back of the plane and was not having it. The teens tried to argue with her but she made them switch back and said the plane was not moving until they did since she had already done the checks. In my experience they are always super strict with monitoring who sits there.

 

[dez1978]

Maybe they are not allowed to stop with those who should not have been in family boarding.

If they have a rule, the employees should be able to enforce it.

Idk. Considering the ridiculous way folks have been acting in airports and on planes the last few years, maybe it's just not worth it to them. Like how most retail staff are trained to cooperate with a armed robber, or not to physically stop people from stealing because it's not worth getting hurt. The number of stories I have read or videos I've seen of people verbally or physically assaulting airline staff the last few years, makes me think they probably feel like it's not worth the risk. The same reason most people I've seen comment on here about seat savers saying it's just not worth the confrontation. I know I'm not fixin to start a vacation off with a fight with a random passenger because I want to sit in a "saved" seat.

 

[Sparrow'sLady]

Idk. Considering the ridiculous way folks have been acting in airports and on planes the last few years, maybe it's just not worth it to them. Like how most retail staff are trained to cooperate with a armed robber, or not to physically stop people from stealing because it's not worth getting hurt. The number of stories I have read or videos I've seen of people verbally or physically assaulting airline staff the last few years, makes me think they probably feel like it's not worth the risk. The same reason most people I've seen comment on here about seat savers saying it's just not worth the confrontation. I know I'm not fixin to start a vacation off with a fight with a random passenger because I want to sit in a "saved" seat.

Actually, that is everywhere, not just airlines. People do not follow the rules and employees do not want to get engaged because entitlement leads to altercations.

Cast Members at Disney do not enforce rules either. People walk around the parks smoking/vaping, wearing shirts with offensive/suggestive wording, kids wearing Heely's (not common today, but still happened), etc....nothing is said.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

not to physically stop people from stealing because it's not worth getting hurt.

I agree with you on your comments but this part is normally part of retail employee rules regardless. Even way back in the early 2000s it was prohibited from me when I was working at JCP, Spirit Halloween, DSW, Max Rave and even the bookstore for my alma mater to attempt to stop someone from stealing and employees do lose jobs for doing so, usually to do with liability. JCP had the most sophisticated system with cameras all over and every now and then I would get a call from loss prevention that so and so was looking like they were going to do something, one time it was that they were switching tags on a costume jewelry display, but not to interfere. That was loss prevention's job and for the companies that didn't have that they would take the loss. What you see now more than anything is smash and grab large groups and there's nothing you can do to stop that in the moment.

 

[philharmagic fan]

Once we had the exact opposite. Got off plane, went to bathroom, headed to baggage, couldn't find bags. Thought there was a pause in bags...waited waited, no more bags. Then we noticed our bags off in luggage jail (a few ropes and stands) and we had to talk to agent to get bags.

We once checked in super early and they put our bags on an earlier flight. They were in "luggage jail" when we arrived in the claim area and we just walked up and asked the attendant to hand them to us. No waiting 15 minutes for them to come down the carousel or jostling others to get close enough to grab them. If this were an option, we'd do it every flight, especially since our airline (United) texts you with updates about where the bags are.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I'm a little concerned about the fact that Southwest is talking about "assigned" seating and hasn't specifically said that I can choose my own seat when I book. And what about if (as often happens) the fare goes down and I rebook? Or the time of the flight changes so I change to an entirely different flight rather than accept the change? I can really see if they change the routing so now I get in 3-4 hours later than originally planned (that's what happened). Rather than accept it, I rebook to an earlier flight. But now, because so many others already booked that early flight, the seats that are available stink. Oh, the joys of flying!

 

[starry_solo]

I'm a little concerned about the fact that Southwest is talking about "assigned" seating and hasn't specifically said that I can choose my own seat when I book. And what about if (as often happens) the fare goes down and I rebook? Or the time of the flight changes so I change to an entirely different flight rather than accept the change? I can really see if they change the routing so now I get in 3-4 hours later than originally planned (that's what happened). Rather than accept it, I rebook to an earlier flight. But now, because so many others already booked that early flight, the seats that are available stink. Oh, the joys of flying!

I'm pretty sure they will have it set as pick your own. So if you want the cheapest fare, they will only offer you the back rows and/or middle seats. If you want the WGA+, maybe a window or aisle, but also towards the back. The top two tiers will be closer to the front.

 

[Neener16]

I'm a little concerned about the fact that Southwest is talking about "assigned" seating and hasn't specifically said that I can choose my own seat when I book. And what about if (as often happens) the fare goes down and I rebook? Or the time of the flight changes so I change to an entirely different flight rather than accept the change? I can really see if they change the routing so now I get in 3-4 hours later than originally planned (that's what happened). Rather than accept it, I rebook to an earlier flight. But now, because so many others already booked that early flight, the seats that are available stink. Oh, the joys of flying!

I agree with you, I’m wondering if this is another way to discourage people from rebooking on a cheaper flight. If you are traveling with children, you would obviously want to sit with them. If the new flight has fewer choices to sit together, that would be a bummer. Can’t wait to see what it will be like. We have been spoiled being able to be very flexible with booking and rebooking.
I remember I was taking a trip to Ireland and the airline change the plane to a third-party carrier. So for a six hour flight, I was not seated with my adult children. I was not happy.

 

[focusondisney]

I'm a little concerned about the fact that Southwest is talking about "assigned" seating and hasn't specifically said that I can choose my own seat when I book. And what about if (as often happens) the fare goes down and I rebook? Or the time of the flight changes so I change to an entirely different flight rather than accept the change?

The CEO has said assigned seating is coming “sometime next year” & more details will be announced in the future. A date to start booking seats has not been announced. I’m betting it will start with a release date & apply to future flights from that date. It would be utter chaos if customers had to go back & select seats on flights they purchased weeks or months before. No one knows the answers to your other questions because none of that information has been released yet.

If you mean, SW is going to assign the seat to you…I really doubt that will happen. No other airline does that unless you book the cheapest fares & opt to not pick a seat. That would just create a whole different set of problems. I’m pretty sure when they surveyed their customers, none of them said they wanted SW to randomly assign everyone their seats.

 

[Sparrow'sLady]

I'm a little concerned about the fact that Southwest is talking about "assigned" seating and hasn't specifically said that I can choose my own seat when I book. And what about if (as often happens) the fare goes down and I rebook? Or the time of the flight changes so I change to an entirely different flight rather than accept the change? I can really see if they change the routing so now I get in 3-4 hours later than originally planned (that's what happened). Rather than accept it, I rebook to an earlier flight. But now, because so many others already booked that early flight, the seats that are available stink. Oh, the joys of flying!

Pretty sure by assigned seat they mean the same thing other airlines do.....you pick your seat when booking, resulting in an assigned row/seat.

 

[EACarlson]

Pretty sure by assigned seat they mean the same thing other airlines do.....you pick your seat when booking, resulting in an assigned row/seat.

I fully expect to be like it is on the ULCC's. You can pay for a seat assignment at booking, you can pay for a seat assignment up until check in, otherwise you get what you get.

 

[2010dvcfan]

I wonder if the assigned seats have anything to do with seat saving....buy one EB, save 2 seats for family.

Nothing more aggravating then paying for early bird and boarding my 5 am flight to see one guy with personal items on 15 seats at the front of the flight. I am glad they changed it I'd happily pay more to pick my seat and be done.