As many of you know, the question about whether to keep our open seating or to assign seats has been the Southwest question for the past couple of years. Proponents of each process have been very vocal and heartfelt in support of their positions, and my post of last summer generated more than 700 comments (including those on a followup post). To those who weighed in on this issue, thank you, and I assure you that your voices were heard.
After much investigation, which included extensive "real life" testing in San Diego and San Antonio, we are ready to close the book on "the great seating experiment" and announce our decision. (If we had drums, we could have a drum roll at this point, but we don't, so imagine one in your mind.) Southwest has decided to keep open seating, but to adopt a new and improved boarding process. These decisions were based on the input we got from you, our Customers, through this blog, written correspondence, and surveys taken during the tests. While a substantial majority of our Customers prefer the ability to select their own seats onboard the aircraft, many of those folks have told us they don't like our existing boarding procedure that sometimes has Customers doing everything possible to be at the front of their boarding group. Instead, many of you suggested, why not board the aircraft in the numerical order of the boarding pass?
Well, we listened to you! After initial tests in San Diego last fall, we conducted a full-scale evaluation in San Antonio last month, and the responses we received were very favorable. Basically, the new boarding procedure divides the airplane into groups of five Customers, based upon the order in which a Customer checks in. The first Customer gets an A 1 and so on, and they will line up to board in their group of five. (To the extent possible, our gates will be modified with marked columns that reflect these new boarding groups.) Customers will know where their boarding pass aligns in the process as soon as they check in, and this will eliminate the need to "camp out" and hold a spot in the boarding lines. For a full description of the new process and to see the comments, click here to read Susie Boersma's August 23 post.
Our goal is to have the new boarding process up and running systemwide by early November. I am fully aware that this news will excite many and disappoint others. To those of you who are skeptical, I can only ask that you give the new boarding procedures a try. After everyone gets used to it, I bet you will wonder why we didn't think of this years ago!
(Click here to see a video of the new procedures. Also, check out this helpful site.)
Comments
The complaint that most parents have had - particularly the ones with small children - is not that they need favorable treatment but that they need to be able to sit together. Even the most blinkered, selfish single traveller should understand that parents will not fly SWA if they cannot be sure that they will be able to sit with their small kids.
Southwest has never offered assigned seats, but did at least let families pre-board. This was the only way a parent with a child could guarantee that they could sit together, and in the case of a child with a car seat, guarantee the window seat that the law insists that they have.
The Business Select announcement yesterday finally confirmed what many posters here have suspected. That Southwest is putting the additional money from its business travellers before the interests of, and courtesy for, its family fliers.
I'm sure it will be a commercial success and one day we'll all look back and laugh at the naive old days when South West portrayed itself as different from the rest, a family friendly airline with a focus on simple, good ol' fashioned service.
As a frequent business traveller I would never fly anyway with an airline that didn't allow me to assign a seat ahead of time, and now I won't be travelling with my family for vacations on that airline either. But I guess I must be in a minority as I'm sure SWA has done its homework.
All the ruckus about "family" preboard is much ado about nothing. Why should one be awarded in any way in a system that otherwise revolves around a "queue" for boarding? By the same token, the current preboarding individuals who take "more time" should logically be boarded last, not first; at least if the goal is the least time to completely board the aircraft in a timely manner. I also don't buy the assertion that families with small children don't have the time to go online early as does any other individual and obtain an early boarding group.
SMF Jeff wrote on September 24:
>REGARDING THE NEW PRE-BOARD POLICY,
1. What is the rationale for the change?
Business Select was announced today. Does that answer your question? Naturally Brian was not able to explain Business Select to you and the rest of the world six weeks before its roll-out. But everybody paying attention knew some type of paid priority boarding was in the works. It was unfair to berate Brian for failing to provide an answer that, for sound business reasons, nobody in his position would be permitted to provide.
I flew SWA this weekend for the first time since the new family "pre-boarding" policy took effect. Alone. With my 2 year old. It was the single most miserable flying experience I've ever had.
The flight attendants were rude to me and seemed appalled that I'd even ask to board first. (How dare I, didn't I know their new policy?)
I had to carry my daughter's car seat down the asile after the A group boarded. Big car seat. Tiny asile. Toddler in tow. On the way to my seat, I must have hit 3 or 4 people in the head with that dang car seat. It was really embarrassing, not to mention dangerous for everyone involved.
We finally found a seat, in the middle of the plane, where the woman in front of us did nothing but give us dirty looks the whole flight.
As people were getting off, we waited until the end, when the flight attendant scolded us to hurry up because of their precious turn-around time (not my fault they were running behind that day).
To add to the mess, I had gate-claim checked my daughter's stroller which never made it up to the gate - it headed clear over to baggage claim. And no one at Southwest would help me get my 20lb car seat, toddler, backpack, etc. clear across the airport.
The flight home was pretty much the same story, different day. I was totally and completely blown away that ANY service company (especially one that prides themselves on customer service) would treat a customer this way.
Disappointing. Sad. And an awful direction for a great company to take.
If I have my choice, I won't be back.
I commented earlier about some challenges I thought I would face while traveling with my family, and said I would reserve judgement about the new lack of preboard for families until after my flight was done. Well, we traveled from MCO - PVD and back again last week, and I can say the new policy didn't work too well for us. On our first leg 3 of the 4 of us had A boarding cards, (because we had a lap child so one of us had to get that entered at the airport when they could verify the birth certificate). There was really no point in having an A card though. There was no way I was going to keep my 3.5 & 1.5 year old at the front of the line, despite being at the gate virtually first. I watched people start lining up, and it made me cringe, knowing that I should be waiting, but figuring it was better to let the kids burn energy while waiting instead of on the plane. So, we boarded at the end of A...technically before the "family preboard" but essentially between A & B. It was a challenge to find a full row, and then one additional seat across the row. I know we annoyed a few people with all the stuff we carted down. The flight attendant ended up asking people to move to accomodate adjacent seating for our family. I felt badly about that, but what other choice did we have? At least the gentleman who moved got a free cocktail!
It was pretty much the same story on the way back....only difference is that we couldn't get boarding passes online because we didn't have a printer where we were staying. I was told when we got to the airport, however, that I could have checked in, and "reprinted" a boarding pass.
Will I fly SW again...probably. Was the experience horrible...not totally...but it certainly inconvenienced another passenger who had gotten on and selected an aisle seat before we got on. In the future, I will certainly consider other carriers iwhen booking, nstead of just keeping my eye out for the typically cheaper SW fares. Guaranteed seating with my husband and kids in a good location is just too important.
When my family flew last year, SWA was trying out this new boarding system on our flight from San Diego to Seattle. It was complete chaos. My husband & I had our three children under 5 combined with their gear and carry-ons and had to not only trudge down the extremely narrow aisle even farther than usual, but also dodge the heads & shoulders of all of the A-group people that had chosen aisle seats. I bonked five of them just trying find two empty rows that we could all fit on. It was the most stressful boarding procedure I have ever been involved in.
The flight crew passed out questionaires to all the adults on the flight after boarding...it looks like the ones that were ignored were the parents.
WHY CANT YOU ISSUE A SEAT IN A - B OR C WHEN U BOOK YOUR FLIGHT ?? PEOPLE WHO BOOK EARLY SHOULD GET FIRST CHOICE AND NOT HAVE TO FIND A PC TO GET A SEAT .OR ASSIGN SEATS SO PEOPLE WILL KNOW IF THEY A SITTING TOGETHER . A LEAST U ARE MOVING IN A BETTER DIRECTION WITH A AND A NUMBER BUT I CAN STILL SEE PEOPLE GETTING MAD WHEN A PERSON MOVES IN FRONT OF THEM WITH A LOWER NUMBER GOOD LUCK
I'm taking my first ever SW trip (likely my last) on 11/10, Islip NY to LV. I've read every thing here and elsewhere on the web about the new seating policy. I have long legs and always try to get an exit row seat when possible. Given the new rules, what's my best shot to do this? Also, I did not like reading about "A" listers saving seats for their "B" and "C" list buddies. Apparently, SW personnel allow this routinely. This is unfair but, if it's accepted strategy, I guess you have to use it. IMO, the whole policy is ludicrous but it has certainly worked well for SW. However, it's not for me which is why this will be my first and only SW trip.
THANKS SO MUCH FOR KEEPING THE OPEN SEATING. I appreciate thay you are looking at ways to improve your business and KUDOS to you for that, but the open seating it GREAT. And I'm willing to try the new improved version.
To the camper-outers, complainers, and assigned seaters...Ease Up! It's a comute, a ride, relax and don't get all "hung up", the world is not gonna end just because you didn't get your prefered seat this trip. Relax, smile and thank your lucky stars that you're not on one of those cramped up Continental flights where the person in front of you thinks you WANT his head in your lap.......!!!!
I had been under the impression that the South West boarding system was designed to maximize efficiency and on time take off. Actually it seems it is to cater to people with abused secretaries willing to get them an A boarding card. I am a business traveler who regularly travels with an 18 month old. Last trip I was expected to carry my child, car seat, carry on bag, computer and diaper bag half way down the plane. On the trip out I was literally sweating trying to get it done. Further, my child was slipping and falling all over the walkway (amazing he was not hurt) when my request for some help from the ground staff resulted in them taking my stroller and then never returning to help with the rest. When I suggested to the "gentleman" boarding us on the way back that I was not willing to work that hard and that I would simply take my time in future (carry one thing at a time if necessary), I was informed that SW did not believe that they should have to be disadvantaged by my "choice" to have a child.
Well I will not be disadvantaged by their "choice" to have a stupid boarding policy. If it takes me 10 minutes to load on then all the "selfish me first" business men will just have to wait and be disadvantaged by a late takeoff as well. Bottom line is I am not showing up to meetings looking like I came out of a sweat shop so lazy businessmen are spared having to take seats in row 10. I believe that this policy is not only an indication of the bad management at SW, but also a comment on what these selfish bums are learning in Business School. They continue to think they should get to ride in the front of the bus in exchange for leaching on society. In my opinion, those who can't do have their daddies buy them a Harvard NBA.
I did call Virgin America and they do preboard families. In future I will fly with airlines that preboard when possible and if not I will take all the time I need to get on safely and with dignity with or without the support of the illustrious managers at SW and the selfish business class they seem to value so much.
Meg