Southwest to trial assigned seating (copied article)

[wee-haggis]

We had always flown Delta with pre-assigned seats until this last trip to MCO. We flew SW because they were A LOT cheaper than Delta. We did get to pre-board with my DS2.5. But even if we hadn't pre-boarded, we did have A passes both there and back. I didn't mind the cattle call too much. Just hated sitting in the airport to make sure we kept our place in line. With Delta we never had to sit in a line for an hour and a half.

I wonder if the pre-assigned seats would change the nice features such as the no-charge to change your ticket, etc. You read a lot on these boards where people change their SW tix several times to get the cheapest price. If the seats are assigned, would that be more difficult to rebook your seats?

Theoretically ,if someone changed their flight booking due to cheaper fares or Dings coming out,it should be for the identical flight.So ,therefor you would think that any basic booking software would pick up on this and not change the seats that were already assigned to you ?
If ,however you actually cancel your flights (credit to be used another day) I don't see why that should be a chargeable item either since your not actually getting your money back...its still in the SWA coffers (no loss to them whether you fly now or later).

 

[salmoneous]

I think most frequent SW flyers don't want to see a change. I sure don't.

Let the families with small children all pack into the front of the plane. Leaves the rest of the plane small-child free.

 

[bicker]

I'm not sure what most folks "want" will matter as much as what most folks "would do". We know some folks won't start flying Southwest without assigned seating, so the question is whether many folks would stop flying Southwest if they started offering assigned seating.

 

[Pinnie]

I'm not sure what most folks "want" will matter as much as what most folks "would do". We know some folks won't start flying Southwest without assigned seating, so the question is whether many folks would stop flying Southwest if they started offering assigned seating.

I will STOP flying SWA when they stop being competitive price wise. I can fly non-stop out of DTW on NWA or SPIRIT cheaper than flying SWA with a change of plane. However, a friend of mine alerted me to a DING fare last week out of DTW and I hopped on it.

Yesterday I flew on SPIRIT and it takes them FOREVER to load a plane. I have been on many many a SWA flight with a 20 minute turnover time. The DTW-BNA-MCO one is one that we never stay on the ground longer than 25 minutes.

I have a flight from DTW-BNA-SAT booked on SWA in a couple of weeks. My flight lands at BNA at 8:30 and my flight to San Antonio leaves at 9:00. I have NO fears of missing my connection on SWA the way I do on other airlines.

pinnie

 

[salmoneous]

I'm not sure what most folks "want" will matter as much as what most folks "would do". We know some folks won't start flying Southwest without assigned seating, so the question is whether many folks would stop flying Southwest if they started offering assigned seating.

Good point. Right now I go out of my way to fly Southwest. I will pay a few bucks more for a SW flight than Delta. I'll choose a less convenient airport for the sake of flying SW. The seating policy is one of the main reasons I am willing to make sacrifices for SW. If they change the seating policy, I will be less willing to go out of my way for SW, but I won't avoid them altogether.

 

[bicker]

I will STOP flying SWA when they stop being competitive price wise.

No reason to think Southwest will go from "less expensive" to "more expensive" -- rather the most likely scenario is that they'll just be less "less expensive" -- still MORE than competitive for those folks who aren't looking for the trappings of a major airline.

The seating policy is one of the main reasons I am willing to make sacrifices for SW.

Each person will have their own preferences, of course, but if most people prefer the security of assigned seats over the cattle call, then that will be the perspective that prevails.

 

[DJNOWICK]

I'm not sure what most folks "want" will matter as much as what most folks "would do". We know some folks won't start flying Southwest without assigned seating, so the question is whether many folks would stop flying Southwest if they started offering assigned seating.

I don't really care how they board, except to the extent that it dramatically affects their pricing. I generally fly them when possible for several other reasons besides lower fares:

a) no change fees for cancel/rebooks when fares drop. This is a HUGE benefit.
b) their preboard age limit is much higher - in general - than legacy airlines
c) their schedule is better (better times and more n/s) for the domestic destinations I fly to most
d) their FF program is one of the better ones, although not as good as it used to be. A credit is a credit is a credit (they are not tied to # of miles flown; rather they are tied to # of flight segments flown) - so I can earn my credits on cheap flights and use them for more expensive ones. On legacy airlines, cheaper flights are usually shorter hops and therefore earn you less miles.

jackie

 

[iluvflorida8]

I don't really care how they board, except to the extent that it dramatically affects their pricing. I generally fly them when possible for several other reasons besides lower fares:

a) no change fees for cancel/rebooks when fares drop. This is a HUGE benefit.
b) their preboard age limit is much higher - in general - than legacy airlines
c) their schedule is better (better times and more n/s) for the domestic destinations I fly to most
d) their FF program is one of the better ones, although not as good as it used to be. A credit is a credit is a credit (they are not tied to # of miles flown; rather they are tied to # of flight segments flown) - so I can earn my credits on cheap flights and use them for more expensive ones. On legacy airlines, cheaper flights are usually shorter hops and therefore earn you less miles.

jackie

I agree 100% with Jackie above. Southwest is the ONLY airline I fly for the above reasons Jackie mentioned. We have family in the Pittsburgh area, and for the last year I haven't paid more than $97 total, for a non-stop round trip from Orlando to Pittsburgh with there DINGS and internet special fares.

 

[jobie61]

I by flying on SWA for the first time in late august from phl to mco. Ho long does it take before all the A passes are gone when doing the on-line check-in.

 

[DebbieB]

I by flying on SWA for the first time in late august from phl to mco. Ho long does it take before all the A passes are gone when doing the on-line check-in.

I checked in at the Beach Club concierge about 15 minutes after the 24 hour mark. We got numbers 32 & 33. My guess is there is about 46 in each letter (assuming 138 total seats).

 

[wee-haggis]

I think that SWA know their customers well enough to not tamper with some of the policies and procedures that got them to where they are.
In saying that,if they were to introduce assigned seating (but at the same time not affect the turn around time,pricing on tickets and unlimited ,no cost cancellations).......then I can't see why anyone would complain about that.
If all of the above proved to be true,I seriously don't believe that anyone would prefer to continue with the "cattle call" boarding method.
I do however wish they would match the other airlines when it comes to pre boarding of youngsters and families. As an example,on 2 ocassions I have had an A pass ended up beyond the wing emergency exit (halfway back). The seats in the front half was families with kids and spare seats in between them (obviously for extended family and friends to use). I think this makes a mockery out of the A.B and C pass method IMHO. As another example,as I sat and waited to board a recent Delta flight , I watched several folk jostle and verally abuse each other across the hallway in the SWA departure area flight getting ready to board to Chicago. Why were they fighting?....because one person sat on the floor in the front of the A line and when it came to within a few minutes of boarding,4 others showed up out of the woodwork and proceeded to squeeze their way through the lineup right to the front. I also noticed that the Pre Board line was not only bigger than the A line but contained less than 10 kids or so. I realize that not all SWA flights are like that,but there is no reason to do it this way in the first place. I then waited until my row number was called,walked on the plane and was on my way within 15 minutes on the Delta flight.......oh and by the way,my flight to Las Vegas was almost $100 less than SWA...so ,who says assigned seating will cost more ?....

 

[bicker]

I suspect that Southwest will end up offering assigned seating as an added-fee service, as a sort-of pay-for-pre-boarding privilege. That way, people who really care about sitting together can pay a little extra and get what they want. They can also do away with regular pre-boarding, except for handicapped folks and parents who purchased a seat for their infant-in-car-seat, so the net-result will be no significant increase in ground-time.

 

[Maria395712]

I would like to know if and when it starts
maria