You guys did a GREAT job of enhancing the RR program. Face it, every airline (including my favorite) in the past has "enhanced" their frequent flyer program by devaluing awards, availability and more.

This is the first enhancement I can think of that is truly a step forward for travelers - not a step backwards. Once again, SWA leads!

This is BS. You charge higher fares, you devalue your Frequent Flyer miles. I had 110 credits in the past 2 years with you all. I am one of the "business travelers" you so desperately want. I think it is the wrong direction to ask me to make a "double payment" to use my credit awards, when just a couple of years ago, you only had a couple black out dates.

YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN WHO BROUGHT YOU TO THE DANCE! Instead, you dot to the dance, and have decided to ditch your date.

Yes, I said ouch too when I saw the 2 for 1 Award deal. I might make the A-List, but I'm not going to trade 2 feebies for 1. They are hard earned, late nights home and sometimes lengthy waits between stopovers. Maybe A-Listers should get some slack on this.

Tell us about how BIG a problem it was before you started restricing the seats. If there are seats like the day before a departure it should be available. Fun time opportunities usually come at the last minute, especially if you have to travel to the fun. I can think of two times already I was unable to use my award when I really needed to. To me, that was the biggest distinction you had over everyone else, in the old days I could decide to fly that morning and you were happy to have me.

If this is your (SWA) way to reduce the number of feebies floating in your system, think of a charity members could donate the tickets to in order to help someone. Get a Vet home, help a kid. I've flown 10 rountrips this year and by no means am I a road warrior. But I do travel from Wisconsin 3 hours by car to fly Southwest out of Midway when I do. That's pretty loyal don't you think?

Amen and THANK YOU. Speaking as a weekly business traveler who pays the highest fare this has earned you all of my buinsesss.

I will have to drive 150+ miles at times fwhen landing at MDW rather than connecting on another airline but this new plan has earned the business.

Thank you SWA!!!

Although I appreciate your new improvements for business travelers, I'm concerned about some of the policies. We visit my wife's relatives in NH about once a month. Leaving on a Thursday evening and coming back on Sunday afternoon or Monday morning. Of course, these are the main times for consultants and our flights from BWI-MHT are normally packed.

I'm afraid we're going to be in the "B" (or even worse, "C") group now that all of these business travelers are "A" prioritized.

And to think, as a former AA Gold member, I was starting to fly Southwest more. No more! The new program is not "enhancements"! I can see exactly what you are doing: steering the perks to your frequent and high-paying fliers; and devaluing your award system for average joes. I stopped flying Delta because they essentially devalued my miles by half; I can predict that soon you will be blacking out all kinds of flights for the peons, and the A boarding will be mopped up by your precious heavy users. I like to fly Southwest only for two reasons: they are reliable, and their seating and rewards system treats everyone the same. Now that you have taken out the second part of the equation, I will go back to concentrating all my flying on American. It may not have friendly crews, but it does fly around the world and it generally gives me a decent--and truly reserved--seat. Its mileage program has become somewhat devalued, but now that Southwest is doing the same, why would I fly Southwest? I often find American beats you in fares to the markets I am going to, anyway. This is horrible news for a lot of people who luved Southwest. I am also going to get rid of my SW credit card. Bye.

Kevin:
Thanks for the response. I appreciate the fact that you came back on. The main thing that gets me is what gets Scott above. I understand that tickets are expensive to give out, but, it seems like a planned deal, to get "in line" with CO, AA, etc. Give them rewards, give them a carrot (even 50% more credit)to get more rewards, but, in order for them to use it, have them pay double. Hence, a 50% benefit to you. I have used rewards over the upcoming holidays for (I think 3), and did use three or so at Spring Break earlier, and have 1 or 1.5 in the hopper. I use my rewards to travel with the family. My last half of the year and some of the start goes to Spring Break, the rest goes to New Years type travel. I can usually get these tickets, but have tio get them on the day the schedules open up. If I decided to go to San Francisco within the next month or two, I wonder if I could go on awards? That is a question that I know how to answer on the legacy carriers, i.e. pay double miles; I guess the answer is now across the board.

I should be an "A List guy, so you could free up all of my problems by really giving me a benefit--let me use my rewards, when I want to, for the normal price that it has been for something like 15 - 20 years now. If it is to expensive, and there are to many awards, reduce the credit card awards(which I do not have), etc.

Off the rant. I will say, however, that SW is the only airline that even responds to complaints about the FF program. To that, Kudos

Sorry, I cannot concur with the aforementioned kudos. In my opinion, you have sold out the leisure and family traveler. Shame on you.

I am seriously confused right now.

I just tried to book a flight, but I see the exact same fare choices as before - how exactly am I supposed to book at "Business Select" ticket?

I, too, am disappointed with the new Rapid Rewards system. What really baffles me is the new credit system based on trip length, especially for an airline that focuses on O&D passengers and whose average trip length is only 630 miles. Also, I liked Rapid Rewards because it didn't penalize those who frequented the shorter routes (think of all the short flights out of BWI). It also just makes the math more confusing. I knew I was getting 4 credits for a roundtrip, or one credit per direct flight. Pretty simple stuff.

If anything a lot of these changes are bringing SWA closer to the legacies I wish to avoid.

On the positive note, the new gate areas are fantastic.

Kev and the gang...

Just checking out the blog and noticed that you guys have been busy. Glad to see that you are simplifying the booking process even more. I love the idea of not listing all the fares and the complications that can go along with 20 different fare types out there for the Customer to figure out. Thanks for doing the thinking for the Customer and making their choices more simple. Keeping the Customer in mind is what SWA has always been about. Miss you guys...keep up the good work.

The new fare structure will be available tomorrow...in fact I think it will officially be online at 3:00 a.m. for any of you late owls (or very early birds) out there. All I can say is, please be patient with us. We are working very hard to enhance our product to bring ALL of our Customers more value and an even better experience. I know that sounds like marketing jargon but I can promise you that these changes have not been made lightly and are the result of many, many months of debate and Customer research. If you had a chance to see part of Gary's press conference today, then you know he said - several times - that we will continue to improve and find ways to bring even more value to our fare structure and Rapid Rewards program over the next several months. As Colleen always says, "We're in the People business, we just happen to fly planes." That will never change.

Kevin,

If this testing was done do carefully then why did you do the tests in San Diego and San Antonio?

Is it because the Dallas management wanted to spend their time in sunny nice San Diego vs. cold Chicago. That they would be able to hop on a flight home at night from San Antonio instead of having to stay an extended time in Baltimore? You cannot tell me that there aren't more variables in Chicago, Baltimore, and the like to provide proper results.

It's a great idea if there weren't through flights but unfortunately there are too many of them and now we are going to feel the brunt from unhappy flight attendants who have to feel the brunt from panicked parents.

I don't think you really know what the business passenger wants.

I'm definitely disenchanted with your new "A-list." I'm a teacher, not your coveted business type, and I fly Southwest only 6-8 times a year., not 16-plus. But I have chosen Southwest over your competitors on purpose precisely because I can control my destiny; I make sure to check in as close to the 24 -hour mark as possible, and I expect to hold my own place in line.

In return, I get the window or the aisle (as I choose--my own preference varies with time of day, length of flight, etc.), near the front, and I have enjoyed my trips far more on Southwest than when I've been forced into another airline. For me, the irony of "the bus that flies" tag from the early days was that now, it applies to everyone else--but Southwest, by contrast, has been the most civilized way for the occasional (but determined) traveler to fly.

No more. You've certainly shown me where I rank in your scheme of things.

I am 6'4" tall and it's mostly legs. On most airlines I literally don't fit into economy seating. So to be frank, the thing I care most about on SWA is getting The Seat. You know The Seat -- right side exit row with no seat in front of it. On some planes the exit row has a little extra legroom so that's OK too, but I never know when I'm getting one of those planes.

It used to be simple. Check in 24 hours early to get an A pass, arrive at the gate an hour early, and 80% of the time I get The Seat. Doesn't matter if it's business or pleasure; if I invest the time and trouble, I get what I want.

Under the new system, I have no idea how to get to the front of the A line. Is Business Select in front of the A-List? In what order are the A-List passes assigned? There is no way I'm getting on the A-List, so I hope the answer is that I can pay either money or time and still get The Seat.

By the way, with the introduction of tiers of privilege on SWA I hope we don't start to see the crappy behavior found on other airlines, with the Premiere 1K Platinum guy loudly arguing with the Executive World Services Iridium guy for that last first-class upgrade.

SWA has really screwed the pooch this time. 60 A's? Families behind the A's? Ever heard of "Through Pax"? Whoever came up with these ideas were not Ops Agents or F/As. These new 'solutions' will cause more problems than they solve. How much money did you spend (waste) on the new gates? This won't last, just like the 15 A's, 15 B's and 15C's at the gate, ticket counter and curbside. The only good idea there was getting rid of it. I look forward to Southwest going back to the airline I know and LUV, remember that company? The one that treated everybody the same yet was different from all the other airlines?

Many of the questions here have been asked and answered at flyertalk.com, specifically http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=754554

There will be up to about 15 Business Select slots out of the 60 A's, leaving 45 A's, the same as in the original A/B/C system. Commuter flights will have a high number of A-listers, but most flights will still have plenty of A's left over. Unless connecting passengers scoop them up first, that is.

Change is never a win for eveyone, and losers always scream louder than the winners cheer. I'm roughly breaking even on this one, except for one critical factor:

Southwest needs to make some money somewhere in order to keep its discount fares from skyrocketing. If this helps Southwest make that money from someone other than me, I'm 100% behind the change.

Oh, and nobody mentioned another big benefit: no more setting reminder alarms to check in online and kicking yourself when you forget to do it. That's a real improvement that deserves praise.

Megan wrote: IÃ

I cannot belive that my beloved airline has just yanked the wonderful way we used to be able to travel out from under us. First, where are the senior fares? I am 66 years old and have traveled between PHX and MDW three times in five months to visit my 92 year old mother and to attend to her business affairs. I carry a fair amount of paperwork and medications with me. I used to catch a senior fare one-way on a moment's notice if my mother was in crisis. I'd get my A-pass as soon as boarding passes were available. I can't take a chance of the overhead racks being full, and then as I am already on board, having to hand over a suitcase with irreplaceable paperwork for shipping , let alone have the possiblity of it getting lost. because I got a C-pass and had to board when storage space was gone. You have forsaken the customers who have loved you and made you who you are, for MONEY! What happened to caring about your passengers? This new format does not speak well for the future of SWA. Herb, HELP! They know not what they do. We need you back at the helm.Up until today, I didn't fly anywhere unless SWA went there. The heck with that! Whatever airline has the cheapest fare, is now on my list. If I don't count, neither do you. I am truly disappointed that I have been kicked into the customer basement by an airline I have bragged about for years. Jan

Reading this blog is like a page out of 1984. We're told over and over again that these changes are "exciting!" and are an "enhancement" for loyal WN customers. But repeating the same insulting corporate jargon over and over doesn't make it true.

With this decision, WN has destroyed the very thing that most of us loyal customers LUVed most about WN. Remember the slogan "Everyone is first class on Southwest?" That's now been replaced with "No expense paid travel account? Get in back of the line!" Southwest has decided that small business people, commission sales guys, leisure passengers, and anyone who pays out of pocket for air travel, we are now officially second rate, less important, useless seat warmers.

This is why so many of us flown WN exclusively overly the years. We hate the stodgy, elitist mentality of the legacy carriers. The legacy lines give all the benefits to the few corporate guys with all expense paid travel accounts while leaving everyone else out in the cold. The pathetic steerage class passengers are forced to slobber over themselves as the chosen few "Elite" are paraded in before us with their priority boarding privileges.

But with the old Southwest, everyone was equal. No matter who you are or how much money you made, you could be the first damn person on the plane! We LUVed Southwest because it stood against all that we hated about legacy carriers.

We thought this was a committed, LUVing relationship, between passenger and airline. Today we were dumped for the next new thing. This will be a tough breakup, one I hoped would never come. Its been a good 36 years. RIP Southwest. We're gonna miss you!

Would yal like some cheese with all that WINE?

Kevin,
Well, the folks at HDQ have been "teasing" us for some time about the imminent changes as SWA tries to tweak the system, and I'm glad to finally see the results of all of those long meetings and strategy sessions!

Now, to those naysayers who are already primed to shoot these ideas down before they've rotated off the runway, let's pause for just a moment and think through just TWO thoughts.

First, you can either view the glass as half-full or half-empty. Some of the bloggers above are like me, "half-fullers", who see this announcement as something that may help a number of current situations, not the least of which is profitability and viability of the best airline in the world. Are there some potential speed bumps in the new program? Possibly, but we should give the management team at Southwest the benefit of the doubt to be planning to evaluate and monitor these changes closely as they are implemented. These folks aren't dummies, and if they see that some parts of the new procedures are not doing what they had hoped, they'll spot it.

Second, we all need to look at our calendars. We're quickly rushing up on 2008. This is no longer 1971, and as much as we've all loved Southwest just as it has been, the reality is that NO successful business can afford to just keep doing things the way they've always done them. SWA faces rapidly changing and aggressive competition, and the surest way to lose the race is to just keep doing the same thing while everyone around you innovates and modifies their strategy. How many times have you watched a football game and said to yourself, "why doesn't the coach quit calling running plays and put it in the air, because their defensive line is a solid wall", or something similar? The large carriers and the upstart low-cost ones are scrambling hard for the leisure traveler, the business traveler and everyone inbetween. Southwest owes it to us, their passengers, and us, their stockholders, to change up the plays a bit to stay in front. If we don't want them to work to remain profitable, then we are forcing them to follow the path of Braniff and many others that just financially spiraled into the ground.

Instead of tripping up Kevin and the guys who are running some new plays into the huddle, let's stand up and cheer and support their efforts to win the game. All of you who are bitterly complaining about innovation and change need to remember that you're talking to a company that exists because it WAS innovative and different in 1971, and by definition, has ALWAYS been innovative ever since. We should not take for granted that what worked in the 1980s and the 1990s is going to keep working forever. Let's give Southwest not only the freedom to move about the country but to innovate and grow as they need to!

Kim
External Blog Boy

I hate that it comes down to this! Now southwest doesn't give the freedom to fly to everyone. If you have more money, you will be treated differently, and southwest bought into that. It's a sad day to see such a company change its policies. No more treating everybody as equal!

Where's Herb and Colleen? We need you back!!!!!!!!!!!

Although we might not might not make as much profit as we like by doing things as in the past, we need to hold strong to our core values. I believe that is what people like most about us, that we're different and don't care about a persons status or salary.

Greed has a way of working itself into our core-being.

I am a Southwest employee and hate to see the direction our company is headed. The "little people" are just that, second string-when it comes down to Southwest Airlines. When will corporate Southwest realize that the majority of our travelers are "common folk", who do not make a 6 digit income.
Remember 9/11? When employees donated over a million dollars back to company to help with costs. When the Board of Directors, including Herb and Colleen froze their pay to lower costs. There is ( or was) a culture in Southwest Airlines, where we all looked out for each other, including our customers. But money talks, and we took the bait!
From a competitor standpoint, I realize we have few options to increase revenue, but I despise the image that we now have to deal with. The Statue of Liberty should simply read "give me your wealthy, and I will take care of them!"
I'm sure this will never be allowed on our blog-website, but I felt that it needed to be said.

"We should not take for granted that what worked in the 1980s and the 1990s is going to keep working forever. LetÃ

While I have not had an opportunity to form an opinion about the new fare structure, I must say that not allowing families with small children to pre-board seems like a big mistake. Now it is up to chance whether or not the parents get to sit with the kids? Even the business travelers have posted above that this does not make sense. With families pre-boarding, the rest of the plane self-selects into people who don't mind sitting around kids, and people who don't care to. Now it's a roll of the dice. And by the way, sir, can you stand up and block the aisle for a few minutes while we install the car seat in the middle seat? It's ok, you'll get your seat back when I'm done because I'll have to go to the back of the plane.

A number of the posts above regarding the fare structure had responses posted by a Southwest executive, but his complete silence on this issue really reflects how indefensible it really is.

In general, I applaud getting rid of the lines, that makes complete sense.

*****gooooo kim!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! RAAAAA RAAAAA!****
Kim,
Thanks for being such a GREAT cheerleader!

I have great faith in our guys and gals that run our company. This blog sure has lit up with tons of concerns and I completely understand alot of it. Change is scary sometimes. I don't think SWA has every been stingy or greedy. But we are a business, and the company has to make a profit. If not, we will end up in the Airline Graveyard! I certainly don't want to be there!
Our peanuts are still free and so is our fabulous Customer Service! There will never be a charge for that! When I was a kid, I hated broccoli....or so I thought. It looked gross! I never would eat it. Then one day, out of fear of hurting my potential future mother in law's feelings, I had a bite. It was great. I am the biggest broccoli rice casserole fan now!!!! Had I not tried that first bite, I would have missed out on a ton! Okay, so it was just a green veggie, but I tried something new, that I had thought was bad. It turned out to be great. I'm so glad I did!
It's kind of hard to "knock something" until you've tried it.
Good luck everyone, and happy travels!!

PLEASE...let the families have priority boarding!!!! I agree with the previous bloggers. The advantage of boarding after the families is obvious and beneficial for the families as well as the travelers w/o children. PLEASE...keep the new part of the boarding process A 1-5, A 5-6, etc.it is a great improvement, but for heavens sake the pay more and get ahead of everyone else who sat at their computer waiting for that 24 hr. mark to check in is baloney. Those A List Execs. have staff and travel agencies check in for them so it is NOT an incovenience for them anyway. NOTE: since the A Listers will pay more or actually their employers will pay more, does that mean that the A-List fares will end up costing everyone more for whatever product they sell?? I guess that's the trickle down effect. Pleae re-think the family boarding process and us lowly leisure travelers working hard to get an A Boarding pass.

The most amazing thing about all these changes is that management doesn't seem to want to respond to comments about family boarding after the A group and the basis for that decision. Pamela above hit the nail on the head. Us business travelers want the families on before us. Management needs to come here to MCO during the holidays and observe the temperment of their customers during boarding. Many holiday reservations were made before the changes were announced. I feel for the CSA's. They will feel the blunt of the frustrations. I LUV SWA, but this change was wrong.

Good grief! Does Mr. Kelly know he is working for Southwest or does he think he is working for AA?! Bring Herb back. The only thing that Mr. Kelly seems to be interested in is making Southwest just like the other bankrupt airlines. Upsetting his employees, not listening to his passengers, and making changes that are not needed. I read an article that he said it wasn't broke but a little bent...what is bent?! We all understood what Southwest stood for....plastic boarding cards, sit next to whoever you wanted, and have great service....those days are history...will this airline be the same way?

Kevin,

Kudos for your above response. Maybe some don't agree with it, but it makes a lot of sense. This is the best explanation for this change since it was announced. I know its not easy being in the front of the firing line. We appreciate your comments to our post, no matter how "heated" they get.

Kevin,
Buddy...pal...you've GOTTA do me a favor. Well, actually, it is for ALL of the SWA pax...

We love the free peanuts, whether they are the old-fashioned, original recipe roasted, or the new honey-roasted.

Whatever you do, please please PLEASE do NOT put Tamra in charge of provisioning. I do NOT want my peanuts replaced with free packages of broccoli!!!!
Former President George H. W. Bush
okay, not really :)

As a SWA Flight Attendant, I can confirm from lots of experience that families boarding AFTER the "A" group has been wonderful! We have had absolutely no problem in getting families seats together. Also, if you are concerned about getting seats together (which you shouldn't be) you can always just make sure that you check in 24 hrs in advance. Families with "A" boarding passes can still board with the "A" group. A limited number of seats on each flight are designated as Business Select leaving lots of other "A" boarding passes out there.. Trust me, as very proud SWA flight attendants, we have the "front line" experience to back up the Company when it says Family Boarding after the "A" group is a good thing. Family Boarding has been a wonderful improvement. Please keep in mind that change is inevitable and can be scary. Please give it a chance before you pass judgment. If you haven't flown since the changes have been implemented, try it out! We promise the same outstanding Southwest service that you have come to deserve and expect. I love my job because of the passengers I am able to interact with each and every day. Give it a shot, folks! I promise you'll be glad you did!

Hello - I am a previous 1K flyer on United. I fly less these days because I have two small children. When I do fly for business, I often take my children on business trips with me (along with their nanny.) I was so happy to fly Southwest, because I could get my children settled (with their carseats, snacks, toys, diaper bags, etc.) before everyone else boarded. And on personal flights (with no nanny), it was much easier as well. On United, I had to work with the other Premier boarding passengers to get my family on board and I always felt I was inconveniencing them (having been a solo business flyer for years.) It was stressful and sweaty, but at least I knew we'd all sit together in the Premier section.
I have one more flight scheduled with my family on Southwest. When it's done, I'm taking my business (4 tickets - usually not the cheap ones) back to United. Sorry Southwest - I'm not lugging a one year old and a three year old, two carseats, a diaper bag, and a toy bag to the back of the plane and inconveniencing everyone behind me as I struggle to get them on board. You lost my business.

Bye Bye Southwest. This is BS. You charge higher fares, you devalue all of my existing rewards. No regular award seats available!!

At first, I was excited. Now, I am second guessing these new policies. I think that its only fair to make my judgments about the new system after flying my scheduled flights over Thanksgiving and Christmas. Good luck Southwest. You used to be (and still are) my airline of choice due to the lack of change fees, somewhat low prices, great service, and the opportunity for me to grab "the seat" (I'm 6'3"). Let's hope these do not change...

Well - this is a real bummer...

I don't fly SWA much these days for two reasons: A) I'm one of those consultants flying out on Sunday night and back home on Friday -- to go DTW to PVD, I have to connect in MDW or BWI on SWa; and B) your fares are not the lowest any more.

I am earning partner credits like crazy to save my oldest credits before they expire in February. Looks like when I DO redeem that reward travel certificate I will be the 350 lb guy in the center seat.

Maybe I should have just let my oldest flight credits expire...

New policies intriduced with the obvious cover of the PR team. I checked for several fares yesterday afternoon for first quarter 08 travel (I fly frequently on business) and every one of them is up 30% or more. This is nothing more than a cheap, slick way to increase fares. I have instructed my staff that they are required to check all other airlines for cheaper fares. Bad job Southwest.

Old argument Scott. First of all.. those of us with legitimately small children (I am talking under 4 here) are just trying to get the FAA car seat on board and in a window seat (faa required) out of the way fast enough so we don't hold you up. We always sit beyond row 15... so we aren't your problem. I'm tired of the over generalization that we are doing this because we deserve some sort of preferential treatment. Of course, Southwest appears to be saying the same thing with their policy changes which is disappointing.

When we flew a couple of weeks back, we are in the A cluster... kids were fidgeting and everyone was huddling together... which invariably caused bumping of people in front and behind us. We got on board and I have to hold the kid and car seat above all the seats to move to the back of the plane (moving to the back of the plane isn't the problem).. but additional apologies have to be offered to those sitting in front aisles are getting bumped along the way.

Just trying to be a good fellow passenger by getting on board and out of YOUR way as quick as possible without minimal impacti to you. Plus, I would think you'd prefer seeing where my 1 year old and 3 year old are situated so you can then choose to avoid that if at all possible. I understand the overall frustration with the preboard abuses. The larger families... with older children... by all means... you are right that was ridiculous. The same can be said for the protected classes that abuse the preboard privilege as well. However, realize that there are those of us that this negatively impacts more than for the sake of the simple convenience of being first.

I guess we'll wait to see how the profits pan out. As it is, I know that a lot of the A-listers out there are flying under the same internet/ding fares that I am snagging for my family. However, while the A-list frequent flier may be flying lots of ding fares... they are essentially only one consumer. The system is certainly not rewarding those of us who foot the bill for the family (4 consumers vs 1). Let the race begin to see if the revenue from these changes offsets any loss of volume.

Geoff, I appreciate your comments, and I understand that family boarding is for the benefit of everyone, but it's primary intention is to give families more time to board and get situated. Ask any SWA employee what the intention is. My comment was pointed at all of those screaming about not being able to pre-board before every other fare paying passenger. It is a privilege offered by the company, not a right. Your "militant" remarks only go to show that you ALSO are demanding something more than just a seat on a flight, which is the only thing you paid for. Sorry, but you fit into the category of you bought a ticket, you bought a seat, and that's what you received and now you want more. When you go to a movie, do you also demand that children be seated away from you? I don't think they'd be willing to accomodate that request either. Demanding anything more ithan what you paid for is uncalled for and greedy. It is a business, providing a service and that's what you received. You traveled from point A to point B safely...business transaction completed. Nothing more is owed to you. Cheers!

BWAHAHAHAHA

So much for making it better. You just opened past March 7 today. I go and try to book a flight on March 16 within hours of it opening up, I can book a flight for less than $100, but when I go to use awards, i am told no go, but we will gladly take two awards for one flight.

ADIOS SOUTHWEST. I really really hope you get that business traveler you are after, because it just cost you one.

Kevin, I hope you report you lost a customer instead of gained one!

Wow, we have certainly stirred up the hornet's nest.

I would just ask for families not to pass judgement before you fly with us. I have worked for SWA for 9 yrs as a flight attendant and as operations agent. When there was a need to find seats together for parents travelling with small children, there has always been someone willing to move to a different seat. There was one flight where we had no takers, but I made the comment over the PA that we were now looking for a babysitter. Needless to say, we were able to get the parents seated next to the kids.
Since we started the family boarding after the A group, I have only had 2 complaints. The anger and frustration comes because parents feel that now they wouldn't be able to sit with their children. That simply is not true! In family boarding now, there will be 60 boarding passes in the A group, besides those people who need to preboard. This leaves approximately 70 seats open in the aircraft. On flights where passengers remain onboard, employees have been trained to scan the gate area to see if seats need to blocked for families, and then pass the information along to the flight attendants who will block seats so we can accomodate our families. The seats may be in the back of the aircraft, but we will do everything to ensure families with small children are seated next to each other.
Family boarding has been succesful in my opinion and has not played a role in delayed flights. By staggering families who board that are already in the A group, followed by the regular Family Boarding after it, seems to cut down on the cluster of strollers and car seats all at one time.
Family boarding appears to be a win-win situation, except for the people in the A group who try to distance themselves from a loud child. Maybe we should allow families to preboard again, just tell them that rows ---- to --- is where they may sit, keeping the forward cabin for regular boarding groups.
I would emphasize to families with children under 4 to do everything in their power to get to the gate early! This will eliminate the need to try to find seats together after everyone else has boarded.
I love Southwest, but I will say that I am heart-broken over the new "business select" priority. There are other means to make a few extra dollars although I will not say my ideas. It seems obvious to me, but the backlash I would get is not worth the effort. I feel sorry that we have evolved into a "Legacy Carrier", distancing those who truly drive our business-the middle and lower classes of society, of which I see myself. People are people regardless of income! And now we have just made less-fortunate people feel second class.------------That's not what has made us into who we are today, and hopefully it won't determine who we are tomorrow!

Herb and Colleen: "HELP!"

Angie - The Reservations system on Southwest.com offers the lowest available discounted fare in the "Want to get away" fare group for the flight you are reviewing. It's not an average. Instead of having to search for the lowest fare, the system displays it for you.

To me the new booking process on Southwest.com became even easier.

How annoyed was I when I went online today to make reservations and found out it would cost me double. Well it is peak time so I decided to bite the bullet and do it. Nope! Since I need to fly only one way (coming back from another city, always do, via SW) I am out of luck. The Freedom Fares are only for roundtrips. SW I have gone out of my way over the years to be loyal to you, convinced my friends and family that your quirky boarding procedure was worth it and you do this to me?
I called your reservation agent all she could do was give me the daytime number. It didn't sound like it was the first time she had given it out today. By the way she was very polite and helpful.
Rethink this ASAP. Limiting awards was a hit, now this! What's next, charging for the peanuts and softdrinks?

Oh, what a hairball this seems like. First of all why would you give priority to some guy on a business trip using his employers expense account over the people who are mainly responsible for your success (the leisure traveler)?? I have encountered many of these so-called businessmen on many of my trips before and cannot stand the thought of them being given priority. The ones I have encountered (and I usually fly 4-6 times a month) are already proped up at the front of the line eyeballing everybody who comes within 10 feet of them thinking they are trying to cut the line, most of them have been rude and extremely unprofessional. When i see this I usually think,"hey if you think your such an hot dog then why the hell aren't you in American business class? Also, please let these people with small children board first, nobody wants to have these annoying children with their ignorant parents who can't/won't seem to keep them quiet near them. Southwest really need to rethink this.

Hi everyone,
A big part of the Blog Team is in Las Vegas for BlogWorld, and we have been speaking with a lot of Southwest Customers who flew into the event from all over the country today. Many of them sampled our new boarding procedures today, and in all honesty, they report that things went smoothly. In fact, they are excited about the changes. Tomorrow, we will be blogging live from the event,m and may even have some video blogs so you can hear these thoughts first hand.
Brian Lusk

What a disappointment. I am a business traveler and use Southwest for over 80% of my travel. When I checked in online on Wed. for my recent trip at the appointed 24 hour time slot, I got my A with a 1. Today I checked in for my return at the same appointed 24 hour time and got an A44. So 43 people will be boarding ahead of me, ensuring that I will not get the seat I would have by checking in early and showing up early. On top of that, some screaming child will now possibly sit next to me since children board after the A's.

The Southwest experience just took a blow in my opinion. The new experience is no better than what one expects on other airlines. How sad.

With the other airlines, I can now choose my seat ahead of time and will do so more often.

The fact that in order for me to get a "better" seat, I now have to pay 2-3 times more than the lowest fare, will certainly be a premium I will not pay.

I for one certainly hope you find this new policy lacking in merit.

I think that families with little ones should be allowed to preboard. I watched a lady board a flight in New Orleans a few weeks ago with a toddler, stroller, carseat and diaper bag. She had to wait in the jet bridge behind the A's with all this stuff trying to make about a 2 year old behave and be patient. Then, she had to try not to wack people in the head with the carseat as she struggled to find a seat. She looked totally stressed out, but somehow managed to keep her composure. I heard her complain to a pilot when she got off, and I don't blame her one bit even though I don't have kids. It was very poor customer service, and frankly, I think impolite. Why couldn't families who want to preboards be asked to sit beyond a certain row? Then, the Business Select Customers wouldn't be mad and wouldn't lose their primo seats, and Southwest could still make money off of them which is what this all seems to be about.

frankly, i am sick and tired of paying 79 CENTS for a soda pop, that 15 years ago, was 50 CENTS. a postage stamp was 25 CENTS now it's 41!!!
What in the world could possibly be happening: MIGHT the economy be changing?? Perhaps it's (gasp) supply and demand?? MAYBE just maybe since just 10 YEARS ago a gallon of gas was 98 CENTS now averaging 300 to 500 CENTS a gallon, could this be the clincher? Gosh, obviously, change never happens over time so HERES TO Making the best of things for everyone cause EVERYone cannot get what they want.

I have always flown Southwest for my business travels, and appreciated the 24 hour check in policy. However, the A-List policy is something that I do not think was a step in the right direction. This policy is a slap in the face of the couple or family that wanted to travel Southwest for a long weekend or vacation get away. One member may be an A-lister, but the rest of the family or travel companions are stuck boarding much later. I tried to think of a way to make the A list work, restricting it to the popular business travel days and travel times, and leaving Friday Saturday and Sunday free for the family passengers - but after much thinking it believe you should scrap the A-List all together and let each passenger check in as close to 24 hours prior as possible to get the best possible spot in line. I like some of the new enhancements, but the A - list gets a BIG FAT F in my book. Cut it now!!!