Wow. It's like I can hear my college professors as if it were yesterday. The laws of supply and demand. Somewhere, someone is willing to pay for something in short supply. Like our "A" boarding passes. It's the first group to board our flights, and it gets all the glory that goes along with it. "A" means I get that window or aisle seat or even the first row. I can even avoid that dreaded (gasp!) middle seat. So let's take a closer look at this.
Now I appreciate the fact that not everyone agrees with our seating policy or may even take issue with our "first-come, first-served" operation, but we offer boarding passes on southwest.com for free. Everyone has the same shot at checking in–24 hours in advance. (Customers can also use web-enabled mobile devices to check in.)
Many of you know there are web sites that promise "A" boarding passes, for a price. Hey, marketing professor, I hear you again. Find a Customer's need, fulfill it and make some cash to boot. Nothing wrong with that. I like money, and I even like the creativity of these folks. Unfortunately, what has been happening is these sites are taking away our ability to provide the coveted "A" inventory.
So what? Is it every flight every day? No. However, there have been several sites already and more are popping up daily. And I mean daily. We don't want our Customers to mistake the services as one supported by Southwest and to transact with companies that may not provide the level of Customer Service we hope to provide - thus potentially putting their personal information in the wrong hands. There are security issues as well, such as providing e-mail addresses that can be bought as well as be used for spamming.
OK, now I feel a little like my mom and dad when they told me I could only ride my bike up and down my street because the kids around the block may push me down and take it away. A little protective? Maybe. But all we are in the end is a brand. And we've tried to make the Southwest Airlines brand mean something you could trust as someone that would provide great service, so it's important to us to do everything that we can to uphold that promise. You're all #1 in our book, even if we can't give all of you an "A" boarding pass.
Comments
Please don't consider going to assigned seating.
There are lots of us who like things just the way they are now.
As contrarians, we appreciate and fly SWA because of the alternatives offered over other airlines.
If you change, you'll be "just another one of the pack".
Keep up the good work.
Phil Chamberlin
Dont you wish we could just "scramble" the boading passes? Some flts B boards first , some flts A, some flts C....just a thought
Just give me an assigned seat anytime. At 57, I appreciate small creature comforts. But I love
Southwest anyway.
I love the Southwests boarding process. I'll admit when I used to fly those other guys I coveted the fact that I could pick my seat when I bought the ticket, but once you learn the system it is so simple and easy to be an "A" and get a great seat on every flight. Our (my wife and I) seat is the starboard (that is right for those non-Navy types) exit row that has only two seats. We'll take that row every time even though the seats don't recline. Of course having quite a few hours of flight time under my belt as a Flight Engineer with the US Navy , I'm more than will to "man the emergency exit."
Are you saying that there are web sites that will, for a fee, retrieve an "A" boarding pass from your web site if a custoer can't? I wondered why I would get one that was number 10 or higher just minutes after my flight opened up. Perhaps you can use a little box of scrambled letters and numbers like some sites do to make sure it's a human and not an automated program.
Last week I flew back from Las Vegas. First of all to get a boarding pass cost me $5.00 to logon to a Kiosk to connect to the Internet. I logged on about five minutes from the 24 hour rule and found that I was already number 27!
The problem with the current system is that not everyone has easy access to the Internet (especially when on vacation) and now that there are bots out there you have to be on the Internet right at the begining of the 24 hour period.
In my mind this is not good customer service.
Here are my suggestions:
1. Allow the issuing of boarding passes on return flights at the same time as those issued for the original flight(s).
2. Attach boarding pass levels to the class of ticket purchased. Full flight coach can check in 72 hours before flight, etc, etc
3. Issue boarding pass class at the time of ticket purchase.
4. Allow the issuing of boarding passes through an automated 800 number with the boarding pass sent to fax or e-mail account.
The current system is neither easy, nor fair. It discriminates against those who do not know how to use the Internet and or do not carry a laptop with printer with them on vacation.
Just my two cents worth.
John Brice
Being a Southwest employee, I'm used to choosing any available seat, however years ago I took a flight on another airline with a friend to get to a city Southwest didn't serve. We had assigned seats, and as soon as the flight was in the air, more than half the passengers on board got up and selected an alternate seat anyway (including me and my friend). Ahh, now this is what I'm used to!
Why doesn't Southwest offer a competing service and let the "market" (e.g. "supply and demand") sort the problem out? Instead of listening to your former marketing professor, perhaps you should visit a modern economics department of your choice and inquire as to how prices serve to allocate scarce goods to those who value the good the most (and are willing to pay commensurately.)
Instead, you've chosen the "sour grapes" approach in claiming (a bit phonily, IMHO) that these sites are taking away Southwest's inventory. Didn't Southwest agree to accept a reduction in its inventory in exchange for the ticket price paid by the Customer? Why should Southwest care how Customers choose to obtain a BP? This sounds a little heavy handed and evidences a slide in Southwest's culture from the "good ol' days;" remember the lawsuits that almost grounded Southwest early on? I see Southwest is now returning the favor with respect to this nascent group of companies in the (tired) name of "protecting customers."
If any doubt remained, this should clearly demonstrate that Southwest is your run-of-the-mill fierce competitor wrapped in a flag of feel-good "customer friendliness." Also, why the change in heart from the original (i.e. neutral) stance?
I LUV Southwest, but this is just another typical corporate "squish the little guy" tactic -- not in keeping with what I'd expect those I LUV to do.
I'm like Phil-I say please don't assign seats. I LUV Southwest just the way it is!
Southwest LUV & mine! :)
I would like to see Southwest produce evidence that any of these have become -- or are projected to become -- popular enough to snatch up any sizable fraction of the A boarding passes. They have been around for about eight months and I haven't seen or heard any such evidence.
By the way, the reason you might get boarding pass number 10 or 20 or 30 even if you check-in right at the 24 hour mark is that connecting and thru passengers get to check in before you (since their 24 hours starts at the departure time of their first flight). What you're seeing is NOT the effect of the boarding pass sites!
If a small number of people are willing to pay a premium to get a good seat, I fail to see the harm in letting them do it. Instead of a knee-jerk "shut them down!" reaction, Southwest should think about how they can benefit from the demand for this service, perhaps by giving full-fare passengers A boarding passes, or charging a small additional fee for a guaranteed A boarding pass.
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