If you have ever flown Southwest Airlines then you are familiar with its “free-for-all boarding process.” The airline doesn’t assign seats. It never has. But, soon that could all change.
Southwest executives recently announced that it has “spent $5 million to enhance its reservation system as part of an internal test to see if it could easily implement assigned seating.” In other words, the airline is “simply exploring” the idea of assigning seats, based on the number of complaints it has received from customers about the current boarding system. That would be me. Whereas, I don’t think the airline should completely do away with their current seating process, I feel there is room for improvement. Don’t get me wrong. I am very aware of the fact that the main reason that Southwest does not assign seats is to keep the price of tickets down. Southwest executives say they fear that if they eliminate their current system it would “slow down the boarding process and increase the amount of time the airline must keep its jets on the ground.”
Assigned seating on airplanes… you either love it or hate it. There is little gray area in the matter. Growing up in Hawaii, it’s a debate I’ve listened to and participated in. If you read my previous blog: “Flying Between the Hawaiian Islands Just Got Cheaper,” then you know that for decades there have been only two major inter-island carriers, Aloha Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines. Both employ the open-seating system and believe me, as a result, the boarding process can get pretty ugly. It’s a first come-first-serve process that can lead to some serious cat-fights. If you REALLY want a window seat or you are a family that wants to sit together, you need to be in line at the gate about an hour before your flight’s departure time. I’m not kidding. There are passengers who literary get in line two hours before boarding time in an effort to get the “ideal” seat.
Passengers who are traveling with disabilities board first. Then, members of the airlines’ loyalty club and finally, general boarding stiffs, like me. (Actually, since I had a baby I get to pre-board… ah, yet another plus to having children.) But, you can see how this process can turn ugly. You have 250 people jostling for a seat or seats together and it becomes reminiscent of the scene created when the doors open for the annual bridal gown sale at Filene’s Basement.
Aloha and Hawaiian Airlines have no plans to amend their seating system and Southwest assures its customers that they are simply “looking at all seating system options.” So where do you stand or sit on the issue? Do prefer the open-seating process or not?