I’m new to this whole blogosphere thing but I have really enjoyed
reading all of the comments and am humbled that so many people are as
enthusiastic and nuts about Southwest as we are.
I wanted to address some of the recent comments about Southwest’s
seating policy. There’s been quite a bit of buzz both in the media and
on this blog about our current open seating policy and my recent
comments (at Shareholder’s Day on May 17) about our consideration of
changing to assigned seating in the future. So, as the saying goes,
here’s the scoop “straight from the horse’s mouth.”
At Southwest, quick, efficient operations and our desire to give the
Customer what they want have been the keys to our 35 years of success.
Everything we do at Southwest takes into account maintaining the
delicate balance between operational efficiency and providing the
Positively Outrageous Service that our Customers have come to expect
from Southwest. One of the most common requests for change from our
Customers is to add assigned seating. Obviously, many of our current
Customers enjoy the open seating, so it’s not a unanimous request.
However, we do listen intently to our Customers and do our best to give
them what they want so it only makes sense to extensively research and
evaluate this possibility.
Open seating has allowed us to build a highly efficient operation by
keeping the time our aircraft are sitting at our gate to a minimum.
Aircraft on the ground don’t make money! But it’s no secret that all
airlines – even Southwest – are facing extensive cost pressures due to
the rising price of fuel and we have to find ways to generate
additional revenue.
Our Customer Service technology has evolved to the point that
assigning seats may prove to be an efficient way for Southwest to board
the aircraft. Our computer reservation system is undergoing an upgrade
and, while we are in the “remodeling” effort, we are adding the
technical capability to assign seats. This does not mean we will;
rather, it means we will be prepared to assign seats, if we so choose.
We are currently conducting extensive research and if our research and testing (which some of you may be involved with)
proves that we can bring in more Customers (without alienating our
existing Customers) and increase overall Customer satisfaction, but at
the same time not increase our boarding times or our costs, then I
don’t see a reason not to do it. I haven’t given any time frame – just
that it won’t happen next year.
I know that several of you have commented that you don’t want the
current seating policy to go away because you see it as a part of what
makes Southwest “Southwest,” but I’ll remind you that many people felt
the same way when we transitioned from plastic boarding cards to
electronic boarding cards. Things change and we can’t ignore that fact.
One thing that will never change, however, is our dedication to you –
our Customer – and we will always make decisions with your best
interests in mind.
So, stay tuned…we promise to keep you informed of this and all of
the changes at Southwest. And keep telling us what you want, we LUV
hearing from you and we appreciate your business!
Comments
I think swa needs to have seating assignments. How hard is it to assign a seat when checking in. It will eliminate the need for your valued customers standing in line for more than an hour prior to boarding. I think eliminates the chaos of people cutting in line and even your passengers can go to the restrooms freely not nervous they will loose their place in line. Treat your customers like they are paying customers because they are definately not lining up for a free trip, they paid for the tickets and they don't deserve to stand in lines for long periods of time.
It's been a year since you came to my home town, and I still love SWA!
.
For the point to point traveler, open seating works for me.
From reading this blog, it seems like there is a need for BOTH open and preassigned seating ... Maybe it doesn't work so well if you have to cobble together multiple segments?
It seems like the industry's preassigned seating protocol has lots of flaws, so why be a 'me-too', when you have a chance to reinvent it?
I don't have the answer, but here's something to think about ...
As an experiment attach some caveats; set aside the rear of the craft for booking seats, and rather than hold a preassigned seat for the duration of boarding, pre-board the preassigned seaters, and after that release the seats to open seaters. You could see how many of the preassigned seaters resist the urge to cheat and actually take the seat they were assigned ... now that could tell a story, eh?
booked a flight for my sister (she has no computer) she got the last seat in front of the bathroom..
I've been reading a lot of the comments and it seems like you have so many customers that like your system because they rush 24 hours before the flight and print out their boarding pass....
what about the guy that is somewhere without access to a computer....
always the last seat on the plane? there has to be a better way....
we fly often to New England and use Southwest a lot, but to be honest with you, if we can find the same flight for the same price (which is often) with reserved seats, we will....
I've wanted to tell this to you for a long time, just didn't have an outlet!!!
I've just recently talked with many people in the waiting line and they all said the same thing, they would fly you more often, if the seats were reserved...
so, we hope you are listening!!!!!!!!
Hi, SWA keep doing your thing. Let travellers be either with you or against you. BUT DON'T TRY TO PLEASE EVERYONE. Let those who hate Open Seating go somewhere else. It makes those who likes Open Seating even more proud to be part of SWA.
The best thing about having to fly somewhere that Southwest doesn't go -- is that by the end of our round trip via Another Airline, we are once again fully cognizant of just how many reasons we have for LoVing to fly SWA, first/foremost of which is:
OPEN SEATiNG - It's NoT difficult, folks! Just GeT ON the plane, then SiT the *%^&* DoWN, please!!
On a recent trip to the British Virgin Islands, we were seated mid-cabin on both legs of the journey to and fro. Thanks to our years of experience as seasoned SWA "Get-On-&-Go" passengers, we were able to proceed directly to Row 14 and plunk ourselves down -- with our carry-on totebag and backpack stowed overhead, books/snacks bag under the seat in front of us, plus enough time to stow a guitar in our overhead compartment for the guy sitting 2 rows ahead of us -- before the passenger assigned to the seat across the aisle from us proceeded to hold up the boarding process for at least 7.25 minutes (we didn't start timing him right away, so we're trying to give him the benefit of the doubt...) whilst he agonized over the placement of his roll-on weekender bag and straw hat in the otherwise empty overhead compartment above his seat.
When the flight attendant finally was able to fight her way thru the crowd to ask if she could assist him, he wanted to know if she could hold his hat for him until he could be sure that nobody else put anything in the overhead bin that might touch -- er, crush -- it...
...Talk about people who REALLY don't use their head~{{;>}~!!! Thanx, Gary, to you & Herb & Colleen & Everybody @ SWA (especially our dearly beloved friend Mardi Coleman, who started out in Reservations and has been loving his job more with every promotion, and my DJ-turned-Adjunct-Multimedia-Professor husband's former RCCD student Chris Sommers, who works on SWA's interactive training videos),
Betsie Bolger (Mrs. Jon Mott)
My husband and I fly from Seattle to Nashville at least two to three times per year. We love the open seating arrangements. We have had to fly other airlines before and due to assigned seating, we were unable to sit together as a family. We tend to travel with his four-year old son and the open seating and early boarding makes life easier for us. Just being able to get seats together as a family makes the flight less stressful for me. Please keep the open seating. The open seating and customer service (and the fair prices) is the main things that keep us coming back time after time.
I think I may have thought of a solution here...
Why not keep the paper boarding passes with a printed check in NUMBER on it. The number would be assigned "1" for the first person who checks in online all the way down to the last number being the last person who checks in at the ticket counter before the flight. Let's say that is passenger number "120".
Then go back to the way it was done in the old days with the plastic boarding cards. Call boarding 1-20, boarding 1-40, boarding 1-60, boarding 1-80, then boarding all passengers.
The customers could eat, shop, relax or REMAIN SEATED in a civil manner. They would not need to move to the door until their number is close to being called.
Once called, you still have open seating.
I left some other comments above and will be checking in by phone, I think that is great. Hopefully i will get a "A" pass, but I am still dreading that line. I would consider flying SWA more often if your boarding could be arranged similar to what i described.
I found this website by searching for tips on flying Southwest Airlines for an upcoming trip. You see, I can count the times I've flown on SWA during the past 25 years on one hand. I am a happy and regular AA flyer. I am only flying SWA ONE WAY because their NONSTOP lax-sat arrives when I need to be there. AA's arrives too late. I am flying back NONSTOP on AA, however.
The reason I "never" fly SWA is because of the open seating policy. Here is a typical trip on AA. I arrive in the terminal typically one hour before flight time and have something to eat or drink, walk around a little, then sit, relax and (depending on the airport) people watch the SWA customers either standing or sitting all over the dirty floor and wonder WHY???? Then I sit until my group number is called. I wait until the last few people in my group are boarding before getting up to make my way to my assigned aisle seat in the front of the plane. I generally have nobody sitting next to me as I have selected or manipulated my aisle seat to go with someone who has selected the window seat. Unless the flight is at capacity, nobody selects the center seat, and if they do, when they see two people sitting in the row, they find an open seat elsewhere where it is less crowded.
From reading this, I have discovered why people fly SWA. Their customer is the last minute customer who books a week or two in advance. AA = lowest fares and best seats in advance, high fares and poor seats last minute. SWA = decent fares ( but not the lowest) and decent seats (but you've got to work for them).
I have been a Rapids Reward member since 1996, anytime I can I fly Southwest; whether for business or pleasure. I fly to Ft. Lauderdale when going to Miami instead of Miami on United or American; to Hartford when going to Boston instead of Logan (even though it would be more convenient to fly into Logan); to Baltimore even when visiting DC (although now that has been solved since you service both Reagan and Dulles) and I do it for one reason; THE OPEN SEATING AND THE OUTSTANDING CUSTOMER SERVICE. Atlhough other airlines have improved, routinely United, American, Delta; their Flight Attendants are cranky and the boarding process is a nightmare. Although there is "assigned" seating, routinely people crowd the gate, try to Board before their "time" for one reason or another, and clog the aisles wrestling with baggage.
Going from the plastic boarding cards to the electronic A,B,C system was nothing compared to converting to be like "the other" airlines. I refuse to believe that people who currently do not fly Southwest will miraculously change their minds if Southwest converts to assigned seating. And frankly, these are not the people who helped make Southwest what it is today (the only profitable airline flying at the moment).
Yeah, I get it, fuel prices have gone up, profits are not AS HIGH as they were and the Suits want more profit; but the Customers are overwhelmingly against it (from what I am reading on this blog); something to think about Southwest!!