OK, Gary, I'm here, you can start now.

After looking at the Business Select and the Business rates it looks like you have doubledl your fares. I am disspaointed. I think that you will find that this is not going to go over well with your regualr travelers.
Sorry,
Larry Holt

Whatever is supposed to be in the Gary-box did not come up on my #1 computer or my #2 computer. I think there is a problem with the site.

I'm Orlando based, a.k.a. massive family preboarding -- good luck if you just live here.

The new process has me looking at other airlines now and we will probably be droppig the Chase/Southwest Visa card. Once our Rapid Rewards are used we will probably go elsewhere now that Southwest is turning its back on a lot of customers, including me.

I am thrilled with the new boarding process. It is very frustrating to have booked early have an A3 ticket and watch the "pre-boards" Families with children OVER 5yrs walk right on and the Agents say nothing. Reserved spots in the line at the gate and my favorite, the FAKE handicap. How dare you! You should be so lucky NOT to have a disability but you stand there like nobody notices. If a wheelchair is required to get a passenger to a plane, doesn't it make sense that this passenger would require a chair to exit the plane? It's funny, people almost receive miracle "cures" during flight and require no assistance at their destination and will knock you over to get off the plane and get theur luggage FIRST. HOORAY for you! The new boarding process won't fix this, but this does need to be addressed. Thank you Southwest for your continued great service!!

My husband and I have flown Southwest for years because the airline flys where we want to go. Half the fun of flying SW was standing in line and trying to get the seats that you desired. I guess the new boarding system will work OK; we are willing to give it a chance. It was my understanding that families with children 4 and under would board between the A group and the B group, has this concept changed? Also, what if there are 8 or 10 people in the family and only one child 4 or under, how is that handled? We flew out of Reno the other night with only about 12 or so passengers, so that was not a good indication of how the new system works. Although there was a couple who decided that because they were #15 & #16 they should be at the head of the line and not get behind the other people who had already lined up when the flight was called. Oh well..

Living in Europe I don't get the opportunity to fly Southwest that often. However I do fly SWA when on business in the US. I like SWA efficiency (which is reflected in the fares) and simplicity. The plane is, for me, a means to get from A to B. Getting to B faster is worth some money; reliability and punctuality is worth some too.
When I use frequent flyer perks, it is to avoid queues. I don't mind being at the end of the A's with online check-in (no queue there!) I don't care for "business class treatment" on short flights, will not pay for "priority boarding" (move the waiting from the gate area to your plane seat). I haven't seen the "number boarding" system, but it seems an improvement.
Don't lower SWA to the standards of "major airlines".

P.S. Did not feel like installing Flash, just for a video.

Forget about the boarding procedure, I got to see Paula's bright shining face this morning. What a great way to start the day :)

I thought the point of the new boarding was to eliminate the cattle call line???? This in no way is happening in the way it is presented in your website "tutorial". "Sit and relax"?????

No, now we are forced to line up numerically like 1st graders in a lunch line.

This is not a step forward, and for as much as I fly your airlines for work, it is a great disappointment. I was so looking forward to an improvement!!

Sorry but that speech seemed more political than anything to me..
It didn't really hit on any of the real key points of concern..
What seems to be hitting me in the heart more than anything is a post by someone named Dennis regarding boarding with his children..
The SW response to his concern regarding being given boarding numbers that put as many as 50 people between him and his children truly doesn't seem adequate..
Because he brought his children he is no longer an A lister??
Basically you are saying either he moves back in the line because he is an A lister or he is to leave his children alone and save them a seat??
So he loses his privileges for flying so many times with SWA or he leaves the kids behind and hopes that they will be ok unattended..??
So the perks of becoming a frequent flier are good unless of course you have children and you are calling this "catering to families"???
Maybe its me but the common sense on this one truly eludes me...
So say my husband and I make the A list as we would have many times in the past and we want to take our grandchildren on a trip, that means that when we want to fly with them we are no longer A list customers...
This tells me that actually unless of course your kids don't go to school most of the year and they travel with you most of the time, these programs are catering more to adults than to families whether that be children or grandchildren...
So the perks of this program are what???
I realize that you have worked hard on this program but why can't you see that it could have areas that are flawed and maybe need some tweeking a bit...
I could fly 200 times a year but if I bring my grandchildren on only two trips a year the other 198 trips don't count while traveling with my grandchildren because on those two I have brought them with me and they are not on the A list..
I'm not sure exactly how this reward program could possibly be looked at as family friendly in the real world the adults, moms, dads, grandparents are more likely to be part of the A list which leaves A list folks with children that are not A list to always be behind the remaining A list folks or leaving their children unattended while they save seats..
In other words unless entire families are ALL A list, children included, families have to make the choice of staying together in the airport or taking advantage of a program that is basically set up for adults that travel much more than children do..
Maybe its worked for some that were lucky enough to get numbers close enough together but I see a potential problem with adults getting numbers as many as 50 between them and the kids...Which has obviously happened as per the post by Dennis..
Your catering to the most frequent fliers and generally that isn't the children, so get your A list boarding pass, just don't bring the kids with you or you ALL lose...

I fly 50 round trips a year and have flown on 2 segments since the new boarding program. I possessed an A16 and A17 respectivly. In both cases, when the gate agent said "Welcome aboard A1-A30." passengers who were previously sitting in front of the gate cut in front of us with A16 on. I looked at the boarding pass # of the person who cut in front of me in the first leg, A27. When the same thing happened on the second leg, I asked the person in front of me and was told to "xxxx off." If the gate agent does not enforce the rules, the new boarding procedures are doomed to fail.

Why not board in groups of five. I can't see this slowing down the boarding procedure.

Cindy wrote: "I realize that you have worked hard on this program but why canÃ

I have expressed my ideas in a posting on the original presentation of the idea. Quick synopsis: people need to take a deep breath, relax, let things become established and evaluate after having experienced it - not based on emotional arguments about not feeling equal because they can't get A1 anymore. I DID agree with some posters that for purely PR reasons, families should just pre-board, with LIMITS. But other than that, I agree with SWA about the changes it needs to make in order to keep fares nice and pretty for the rest of us.

Yet people continue to say they don't like it either before they have tried it or purely because they didn't feel equal having to line up further back. Before coming to medical school, I was a Middle School teacher - and boy oh boy, it's a good thing Mr. Kelly doesn't run SWA the way I ran my classroom in Baltimore City. He has shown patience, kindness, an openness to listen, etc. In my class, whiners were told to grow up - end of story.

Furthermore, I did some math: (Mr. Kelly or Ms. Berg, please correct errors I probably made) But there are about 137 seats on an airplane, 6 seats across. That means about 23 rows in an airplane - each of those rows has 2 window seats, 2 aisle seats, and 2 middle seats. That means there are 4 seats per row that somebody would prefer and only 2 that somebody would rather avoid (middle seat). 4x23=92. Assuming an absolutely full airplane, that still means all the A group (even A60) gets a desirable seat and the majority of B group gets a desirable seat. And since SWA is only selling 15 Select fares, that leaves a whole lotta nice seats for everyone else. If somebody wants to pay that much more to park themselves on the same "EQUAL" leather seat as SWA made available to me for way less than the competitor, I'm all for it!

Let's not confuse SWA's mission - to me, their mission and goal is to provide the Freedom to Fly to everyone. Unlike a previous blogger who advocates across the board increases in fares in order to maintain the proverbial "equality" everyone keeps talking about, I WOULD rather SWA give some perks to people who are paying way more if it means I get to keep the freedom to see my family, go on a vacation, and explore this great country of ours.

People, there are way more important things we could be worrying ourselves over rather than A3 vs. B47. Grow up.

here is a picture of what Artie is talking about
http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/Southwest_Airlines/Southwest_Airlines_B...

Joe

I think this might be too much change in such a small amount of time. For me waiting in line for a good seat was like a southwest airlines tradition. I think the Southwest Airlines customers liked the airline just the way it was and you are trying waay to hard to get buisness travelers. It almost seams like Southwest is leaning towards legacy style with their changes. But the changes dont really effect my buissness with the airline.

I agree with the ealerier flyer who left this message," While I have no issue with the changes themselves, the implementation of these changes will be the key." I've just signed in on-line to print my boarding pass 24 hours in advance and have received the following message. You are not checked in for your flight. Proceed to gate for boarding pass. I called the 800 customer service and they said their were no more tickets available to print from the on-line check-in. She assured me that I was A-listed, but that I couldn't check in and print my boarding pass. I flew this morning and I was A-listed and when I checked in I at the gate I was awarded B-55 which was hardly an A-listing. What gives with this new system? Now I have no boarding pass and I'm at the murcy of a person at the airport. I check-in on-line so I don't have to waste time interfacing with a human who doesn't have my interests at heart. The computer system is unbiased and that was the success of the program. The implementation process needs to be fixed so a frequent A-flier can again check-in on-line before they go to the airport. In the old system at least you received your boarding pass and knew where you stood A, B or C before arriving at the airport. Please fix it.

Just flew Southwest today and experienced the new boarding process for the first time. It worked great. Travelers that are concerned should give it more of a chance. Don't make snap judgements. Don't be afraid of change. It really hasn't changed that much. Relax!!! You still get an A, B, or C and you still get to choose your seat. What is the big deal? One thing remains consistent: great ontime service.

Thank you Southwest. You are by far the best around.

As a dedicated and frequent flyer on Southwest, when I first heard that SW was going to board people basaed on the letter and number on their boarding pass, I though that was fair and convenient. But when I read about how SW was going to sell "A" pass seat to those capable and willing to pay for them, I had a very negative reaction. Southwest was built on the Joe Six Packs and Grannies of the world wating to fly for personal reasons. Now, it appears that you are catering to the business flyer. I fly to assist my non-profit clients in the management of their associations. It is they not me that pays for the fare and I am duty bound to get the lowest and best fare.

I work for southwest in Tampa, Fl and I can say after being in the gate area for the past week I have noticed a very positive change when we are boarding. I understand families being nervous about sitting together , I have a 7 yo son and I share that same dilema. We communicate with our flight attendants and make sure there are going to be seats together when "family boarding" begins. Another positive note is when we announce a gate change, In the past you would have hundreds lined up in the gate area and when we announced that the gate has changed you could witness complete chaos with people actually trying to run over each other because they didn't want to lose thier place in line. In the past when a flight had a delay our passengers were standing in line for the 40 minutes prior to boarding and then they sat in line for the remainder of the delay. This new boarding process eliminates that. I just watch our passengers and now they are sitting in chairs instead of laying on the floor or standing for an extra 40-50 minutes. Also families have the same chance of obtaining an "A" boarding pass as any other passenger. I have heard a lot of the same concerns from other passengers at the gate and I understand that we may lose some costumers because of these changes but I don't think you will find a more friendly set of employees than ours and that makes all the difference at the end of the trip.

As a flight attendant for Southwest, I have noticed that since the new boarding procedures have have started, it seems like the plane is being boarded a little faster. I am pleased the family boarding is after the 'A' group as well.

In talking with passengers, most of them just don't understand why we've changed our procedure... after explaining what I've learned about the new boarding, the passengers seem to understand a little better. I think change is change and some people don't like change. Like Gary said in the video- we can't be everything to everyone... but I think this will keep our loyal customers loyal by not assigning a seat... but then again, this will keep away some passengers who like to have an assigned seat.

Just a note: Most of the passengers who I've talked to actually prefer the new procedure.

Folks this is real simple. America (thanks to our Gov't) is becoming another post WWII Germany with the rights and liberty's being stripped away little by little and day by day. We whom believe in what our forefathers started, should be outraged and furious at the mockery of our veterans who fought for rights that now are tossed away by political idiots. Example: Immigration rules. WAKE UP AMERICA !!! Look back 100 yrs to what our then president said about the english language here in America. Southwest just plain SHAME ON YOU. Southwest remember we still have the freedom to put you out of business by using other airlines. Signed Tired & Disgusted with Americas double standard of the rich over the middle & poor class

Good job Southwest!

I have been a customer for years and know that things change according to the times! You all should realize this as well and for that I commend SWA! My cardinal rule is you get what you pay for, meaning, its not the era of meals anymore or inflight entertainment. Customers want low fares and with low fares you got to remember you get what you pay for! I have no complaints about my ticket being as low as possible! Here is a thought EAT before flying or buy something at the airport for your flight! Also bring something to do A BOOK! DVD PLAYER! I know hard to understand right???? Sorry to preach but once again I LOVE SWA!

Loyal Customer,

Ian Dahl

Hi SWA~
I certainly hope you DO read these comments. I am really upset about the changes and have already booked my next West coast flight on another Houston based airline. Why?

1. NO Enforcement of the Boarding pass numbers, just flew 6 flights in the last week. Mob rush to the gate attendent.
2. Rarely I fly with my toddlers and when I do, I want to get them situated before the mad rush of rude "Carry-on loaders"
3. It's a challenge to fly SWA at times, but I did so just because of my Rapid reward points. Now, I think I might not have the 16 RT's a year, therefore be relagated to B or C status, and the dreaded middle seat when flying alone.
4. Disappointment that no one enforces the HUGE carryons people bring on. I always check my bag because I dont want to hassle with it, but most folks don't.
5. Disappointment with the way SWA has changed for the worse.

Thank you for asking.
We don't like this at all!

Longtime Loyal Customer now diappointed and taking my $$$ elsewhere.

I echo other comments that I was pleased to hear of the initial boarding changes. Adding the numbers seemed like it would eliminate the need to go sit on the floor an hour and a half before a flight. A welcome change. And I was happy to hear of the change in family pre-boarding. Families can plan ahead just like the rest of us and print our boarding passes 24 hours in advance and get in the A group. Everyone seems to take a long time getting into their seats and stands out in the aisle, so I don't see much difference for families (if we all tried to either move to the back or step into the row and let people pass, that would sure help things though!).

But the change in offering priority boarding to those who paid more does not sit well with me at all. One of the things I despise about the other airlines is the "class system" they have. First class, Priority Class, etc. Its ridiculous. Southwest has always been different and it feels great to feel equal to everyone on the flight. Now that all changes. I don't have an equal chance to get the good seats (I'm a fearful flier and seating is a big deal for me) or the opportunity to get on ahead of the crowd unless I pay more. I work for a non-profit so when I fly on business its not ethical to pay more for this privelege. And I work for a non-profit, so I don't make enough to be able to just pay for priveleges I want when I'm on personal trips. I'm not willing to say I'm done with Southwest, but I will definitely explore more options than I have in the past as they become more like all the other airlines.

I'm very disappointed to see Southwest, the airline that really seemed to be the people's airline, suddenly implementing a class system. A very sad day...

To The CEO of Southwest'
I would Like to Commend your employee and employes on the handling of the situation with the UNDERDRESSED PASSENGER! that has been in the news. I believe you and your emp's handled that PERFECTLY and if that is your position about your airlines and your position with regards to morale and integrity you have my support and the majority support of numerous traditional americans! Thank You for trying to provide a flight service that I can bring my family and children on without worrying if the main display will be someone dressed like a porno star getting ready for the next scene! I genuinely wish hope and pray for the best for You and Your employees for all that you provide for your customers!

Kelly Gibson
KellyKellyGibson@aol.com

Regarding Kyla Ebbert, the Hooters girl who apparently has ZERO modesty:

The more I hear of this, the more proud I am of the employee who had her adjust what little clothing she was wearing before reentering the plane. Finally, SOMEONE who has the moxie to stand up and say, "That's inappropriate!"

There was once a time in the not-so-distant past when females who dressed this way in public were considered hookers. Unfortunately, our society has loosed its morals to the point that when someone approaches another and says something like, "Please properly cover yourself . . . your attire is offensive," the inappropriately dressed person makes a big STINK of it and gets on national news and the person who makes the comment is scorned. WOW! Shouldn't it be the other way around?

THANK YOU for taking a stand!!! The public has got to know that there ARE those who disapprove of people who lack decency flaunting it in the faces of people who dare cover themselves!

The thing that gets me is Playboy hired this girl to have nude pictures taken. The mother was talked into approving her daughter to pose nude and the father finally caved in. Oh, yeah, I'd like my daughter's naked body on every magazine stand across America!

She aspires to be an attorney . . . FOXNews.com states:

Ebbert worked at a Hooters in San Diego but said wants to become an attorney, and doesn't think posing nude should get in the way of her professional aspirations. "This was beautiful and classy. I don't see why it would affect a professional position," she said. "I'd do it again in a heartbeat."

Wouldn't you love to be there to say, "I told you so"? I believe it WILL and SHOULD interfere with her becoming an attorney!

KUDOS TO SOUTHWEST!!!!!!!!!

IF YOU WANT LOYALTY FROM YOUR CUSTOMERS YOU HAVE TO BE LOYAL TO YOUR CUSTOMER BASE.

I guess people just don't get it. There are SIXTY A boarding passes. Unless a combination of SIXTY Rapid Reward or Business Select passengers happen to walk up if you print your boarding pass out 24 hours you will get an A boarding pass.

Besides, I'd rather have time before the flight to go get food, coffee, or a newspaper.

You can always head over to American Airlines where they have assigned seats. Oh, yeah, they love to change equipment. There goes your window emergency exit row seat! I've flown them a lot of times. They board late, depart late, and arrive late. SWA? Usually on time.

Chill, peeps.

I am using a Rapid Rewards Award for a flight tomorrow and my wife is flying on my companion pass. I just printed our boarding passes and got A21 and A23 for the first segment and A17 and A19 for the second. So far, so good. The bad news is that when I was looking at changing the flight several days ago I noticed that it is no longer possible to get the last seat on the plane with a Rapid Rewards Award. The number of seats available for Rapid Rewards Award use now seems to be very limited and in order to get the same flexibility that I had under the old system I will have to convert two Standard Awards into a Freedom Award. In effect, Southwest has doubled the number of segments for a "useful" award from 16 to 32. I fly Southwest exclusively because of the Rapid Reward program and think that this was a very disappointing improvement. I can understand all the other changes but this one is hitting me directly in the pocket book and I am surprised that it hasn't been discussed on this blog.

I'm certainly for any changes that remove the need to sit in line to reserve one's spot. However, I can't adequately express my dismay regarding preferential seating for higher-paying customers. I became intensely loyal to Southwest after taking my first flight with them. Now, I need to reconsider. Please, no elitism for seating!

I heard your video response. I work for a big company too. Your response was typical PR BS. The founder of a company would never say that "replacement CEO" crap.

SWA now is just like all the other airlines so I guess there's no need for me to prefer SWA over any other airline when I'm planning my trips.

Once the founder leaves as the leader of his company and is replaced by a "business school" grad that is bottom line oriented and only lives to meet "Wall Street's" expectations, that company becomes just another cookie cutter business school case study. Too bad for SWA.

I have been a loyal Southwest fan for about 10 years now and i loved that i would get the ticketless awards from flying, booking online and using my credit card. Well, the past few flights i wanted to fly there were no seats available for ticketless awards. I used to never have this issue, which was a HUGE reason i loved flying southwest. I could fly when and where i wanted. Now it doesn't seem to matter I can only fly when and where you want me to or i pay like everyone else. If i have to pay normal fares I am going to do it where i get an assigned seat. In fact the past 4 times i have flown my ticketless awards wouldn't work so i flew other airlines, which it looks like is going to have to happen again. So much for enjoying the great customer service and appreciation that southwest once provided. I guess it's time to use my other flight miles from other airlines and credit cards.

SW blows.......cramped seating, rude staff, that stupid bag of peanuts, shall I go on? This airline is the 'Wal-Mart of the sky'..............

I do a lot of business flying. I'm on my second companion pass. Every business flyer to whom i have spoken prefers your old policy of allowing families with children four and under to board first. Knowing where the families with children are sitting allows subsequent passengers to select a seat away from the children if that is their preference. I have seen several unhappy flyers who boarded first and selected the emergency row seats dismayed by having crying babies seated directly in front of or behind them when children board at the end of the Group A.

Your new policy of boarding by numbers within the A, B, and C categories unintentionally disadvantages your best customers, those flying with a person on a companion pass or a rapid rewards ticket. The companion pass and rapid reward ticket holder must have a separate confirmation number from the primary flyer. By the time you log in a second confirmation number for the companion several numbers within the category have been issued resulting in the primary flyer and the companion being in separate boarding numerical groups. Your policy should be amended to allow the companion to board with the primary flyer, even though their number may be a little higher.

I recently used my companion pass and 6 rapid rewards tickets to fly the family from Sacramento to Orlando and return. Even though we started the boarding pass log in process exactly 24 hours prior to departure the family was separated because each person had their own confirmation number and other numbers were assigned between each log in.

I have always enjoyed flying Southwest. They have gotten me home during college and around the country on business. I am not pleased with their new changes. I have enjoyed online check-in and appreciated the ease of online reservations compared with other airlines. But I refuse to pay 3 times the lowest fare, just so I can have priority seating and a free drink. I think most people will be standing around the gates anyway waiting for their group to pop up on the screen.

Hooray to the people who have a company or the means to purchase the more expensive rates and the perks that come along with it. But I have chosen Southwest as my carrier because it has made its fares affordable and available to many. If their business customers are so numerous perhaps they can offer a business online route to major cities. I can fly more often and to a greater number of destinations with Southwest, and I hope to continue to do so. But these changes may make it hard to ignore their competitors.

I'm infuriated.

I bought a ticket 6 days before you made this announcement under the assumption that I would be eligible to board the plane before anyone else as long as I checked in first. This is critical to me, because at 6'11", I can barely squeeze into your regular seats. I now find out that I have to pay an extra $400 (more than double) to qualify. If I had known this, I would not have purchased a non-refundable ticket.

The ethical way of making this change would be to have it take effect in several months, not immediately.

There is flat out no reason to fly Southwest any more. Good riddance.

Herb/Gary/Southwest in general,

Facts:
1. I am a businessman
2. I travel for work (50 round trip flights/year)
3. My primary residence is in Phoenix
4. I own LUV

Feelings: I have flown SWA almost exclusively for many years, why:
1. Safety Record- your planes don't fall out of the sky
2. Simplicity- go to one website, yours, buy fare, print pass, go
3. Competence- your pilots are good and attendants friendly
4. Cost- Prices are low and consistent and rarely charge for flight changes
5. Consistency- You don't have delays/overbookings/cancelations

You are now causing me great concern.

KISS- Keep It Simple

I don't need rewards programs
I don't need a letter and numbers seating system
I don't need to be boarded before families with kids
I don't need food or beverages on the flight

ALL I NEED IS TO GET TO MY CLIENT AND BACK TO MY FAMILY SAFELY AND ON TIME. THAT IS IT.

From my perspective, your customer, you are fixing something that was not broken.

P.S. I don't want to see you become a HBS case study on what not to do.

Everyone is entitled to their opinions. That's why we have this forum here. So everyone can chat...good and bad. But come on folks! Some of you are being down right rude, and I take offense to that. The Employees here at SWA have faith in our Leaders. Afterall, they have been hand picked by the Leaders before. If our company has made a mistake, they would "own" up to it and "fix" it. But I do not believe that's the case...no mistake made here. Ya know, most people don't call management to compliment a job well done. But have an employee make a mistake, or someone's food order be wrong etc. in any business, you can believe management will be recieving a phone call. Of course you are going to hear more negative comments. Does the phrase "squeeky wheel gets the grease" come to mind? Many, and I would bet most, are complaining and have not even tried the new boarding process. They do not even fully understand it. That is apparent by their comments. If you are a parent, and concerned about family boarding, don't be. You can check in online early as well. No one is forcing you not to check in online. You will be taken care of. If you are most concerned about boarding first to get that coveted "extra leg space" seat(s) then you can simply get the business or check in early online. When I travel, I really don't mind where I sit. If I'm traveling with my 2 year old, all I care about is that he and I have a seat together. We are not traveling overseas. I'm not going to be on that plane for hours and hours and hours. So it really doesn't matter. I just want to get to my destination SAFELY! That is my only concern. So if I sit in the middle seat....so what. That seat is the same size seat as the others.
Southwest is my company! I'm proud to be an Employee! You will probably never see me. I'm not a "frontline" employee. But my feelings have been hurt by some rude comments on here. We are a company. We have job security, and that's a beautiful thing! I have changed the way I live now. My daughter now drives my Dodge Durango to school now and I drive her little peppy 4 cylinder to work....yep, my teen drives my vehicle, and I drive hers. Why? FUEL! We have had to adjust some things around for our budget. When you have a long commute, it gets very pricey. Imagine the fuel our jets use. Now imagine you had to figure a way to balance your monthly budget with the way fuel prices have increased. How would you do it? Other airlines did it at the expense of their employees. I know because my husband works for one of the other airlines. He took a cut in pay and benefits. That was/is very very hard on us. We do not want that here! I hope you, the flying public, do not want that for us either. We work hard. We work as efficiently as we can. Sometimes, you just have to try other things. And if a few people choose (key word) to pay a little more, while the rest get great prices, than that's a win-win situation isn't it? If price is not an issue, then you can help us by paying a few bucks more. I know our prices for our business select is NO WHERE NEAR a "first class" ticket price on other carriers. You still get first class service no matter what seat you are in on SWA. Our Customers' treatment is, and always will be the same great service.

I'm sorry I have rambled on here....and almost written a book. But I take these comments to heart. All that we ask, is before you say we "blow" you should first at least try it. And then you can offer some constructive criticism if need be. You can also offer a compliment if need be.
Let's be thanful that we live in a country where we do have the freedom to fly, the freedom to complain or compliment. Many places you cannot. Let's be thankful for our many friends and family and our armed forces men and women who will not be with their families this holiday to give us these freedoms, and hopefully to allow others around the world to have the same.
**stepping down from soap box**

My young, ages 9 and 12 (adult!!!), grandchildren will be flying to visit me without an adult. It sounds as if they could easily be separated as they board the nonstop flight. If this is true, I will have to cancel their tickets and get new ones on an airline which reserves seats. Does anyone have any suggestions? I have never even looked at airlines other than SW, but I guess now I will have to do so when I buy tickets.

I have experienced the new boarding procedures and I have no problems with it once it gets in sync and your gate agents follow the established protocol.

That being said, I am simply floored by your new pricing structure. In the past 48 hours, the company I work for (in Phoenix) has removed Southwest from its "preferred" list of airlines because the new pricing structure is unbelievable. As one of the travel coordinators for my company, I am perplexed as to the justification for the sudden sticker shock.

Even for personal travel, your pricing has certainly excluded me. That ticket from Phoenix to Las Vegas that was running $118 (which included fees and taxes) two months ago is now $239 even if I book four months in advance. You are going to have to show me hard evidence that your costs have doubled in order to justify those increases. At $239, I can add another $80 and fly JetBlue to NYC.

You have said you are trying to appeal to the business traveler. Did you run any of these changes in front of focus groups, because if you had, I doubt you would have instituted the pricing structure. I have been coordinating travel on the corporate level for about 20 years now and every business traveler I know falls into one of two camps: the "bargain hunter" and the "upgrader."

The first is going to fly the cheapest flight they can get in order to save money for the bottom line. They don't particularly care that they are in boarding group B or C. They just know that $118 from Phoenix to Orange County is a good buy. But now, that flight is $239 and they can now go to USAir which is offering the same routing for $118. Your pricing structure has driven off the "bargain hunter" businessperson into the arms of another airline, not to mention us Average Joe's who chose Southwest because of the cheap fares regardless of the time of day.

The "Upgrader" flies coach on Delta/United/American/etc. in hopes they can hit the upgrade elite status so that they have a very good change of moving up from coach to Business Class or First Class. It is there that they can open up the laptop and have room to actually do some work. The upgrade on Southwest is that you get on the plane first and you get a free cocktail. But, your seat will always come with the same pitch and width. My travelers want the chance to move up and get a better seat, not a free cocktail. Getting on the airplane first is unimportant because they have an assigned seat. So, Southwest is now chasing them away, too, and the arms of another airline is ready to accept them.

In the video above, there are plenty of nods about how Southwest just HAS to change. But you never really state why. SW is one of the few profitable airlines with a business model that worked when Northwest Airlines was keeping people trapped on the tarmac in Detroit for 10-12 hours. Why does something that isn't broken need fixing? You don't need to change for the sake of change.

So, with fares higher than other airlines, no real "upgrades" per se, and the death of a business model that worked, please let me know why I or my corporate travelers should fly SWA?

Heard on CNN yesterday that Southwest flew more passengers in the first 8 months of this year than any other airline in the world ...69 MILLION!!!! Management at SW must know a little bit more on how best to operate their business than all of us put together. They've been an outstanding airline in the past, and I believe they will continue to be - with or without a couple hundred spoiled, whiney passengers. Besides, if the new proceedures need tweaking, I'm sure Southwest will tweak.

I have faith in an airline that has proven fiscal responsiibility AND an exemplary safety record. When I fly the legacies I feel like I'm paying twice...once in my tax dollars to bail them out from bankruptcy and then again for the cost of the ticket.

Desert ranger....

SOUTHWEST IS STILL CHEAPER THAN FRONTIER AND UA!!!

Oops - Gary...Gary...Gary

I have flown Southwest almost exclusively (98% of the time) in the last 8 years, logging more than 300 flights.

This one is probably going to cost you a lot of loyal passengers, although there really aren't a lot of other decent options in markets like Manchester. If you are going to change the old policy of first come first served, why not just assign seats?

Your system is too complicated and it clashes with Southwest's established "everyone is equal" culture. It also pits passengers against one another because a first boarder will be trying to block out the seats next to them waiting for their traveling partners (who aren't A-listers).

What happens to a child or companion (hey - a companion pass holder is one of your best customers) who can't board with the A-lister?

You didn't think this one through - the best course would be to admit a mistake and either go back to first come first served, or start giving out assigned seats.

The more you try to fix it, the more complex it will become and the more consternation it will create.

Switch to assigned seats or go back to first come first served! Gee - I still like the plastic boarding cards - because hacks on a computer couldn't get ahead of me.

Finally, if you are going to charge extra to board first, let me select my seat! I should at least know what I am buying before I pay you. Check out the Northwest web site - they still don't have it figured out right since you can't assign all the seats at the same time on a multiple leg flight, but at least you know what you are paying for, when you upgrade to an aisle seat 24 hours before the flight.

This is a dramatic culture change, and the many will end up abandoning the airline while the few, with large expense accounts, probably won't make up for the lost revenue.

Even working on the financial numbers, this one doesn't make sense. You didn't properly calculate the revenue that you will loose from loyal passengers looking elsewhere.

PERTAINING TO THE COMMENT OF THE FEMALE WHO WAS ASKED TO ADJUST HER CLOTHING ATTIRE.......KUDOS TO YOU SOUTHWEST AND THE "GENTLEMEN" WHO REQUESTED IT......THIS CAME FROM A "MALE" WHICH WAS A SURPRISE TO EVERYONE I'M SURE, BUT EVERYONE SEEMS TO FORGET ONE BIG FACT..........

BEFORE THAT LADY EVEN ATTEMPTED TO PULL THAT "MINI" DOWN FURTHER, HAVE YOU EVEN THOUGHT ABOUT HER SEATING???????? FOLKS, WHEN SHE SAT DOWN, ALL THAT WAS ON THE SEAT WAS HER "BOTTOM" AND I'LL BE NICE IN ADDRESSING THIS....FROM FRONT TO BACK, HER "BOTTOM".............NOW, NO ONE KNOWS IF SHE WAS WEARING UNDERGARMENTS OR NOT, BUT, GERMS ARE GERMS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...WHY WOULD ANYONE WANT TO TAKE A CHANCE TO SIT AFTER HER, WHEN SHE COULD HAVE VERY WELL CONTAMINATED THE SEAT WITH "WHATEVER"...THEN SHE HAD THE NERVE TO EXSPECT AN APOLOGY? GIVE ME A BREAK.......SHE WAS THE ONE SPREADING HER "PERSONAL HYGIENE GERMS" AND THAT IS TOTALLY UNEXCEPTABLE......THERE ARE PEOPLE AROUND, KIDS WHO'S LITTLE HANDS MAY TOUCH THAT SEAT AFTER HER AND CATCH WHATEVER........I WAS FLOORED WHEN I FIRST READ ABOUT IT BECAUSE I THOUGHT IT WAS TOTALLY "UN SANITARY", THEN SHE EXSPECTS THE APOLOGY........WELL, UNLESS SOUTHWEST SCRUBBED HER SEAT WITH CLORAX WHERE DOES THAT LEAVE US....SOUTHWEST DID RIGHT FOR ASKING HER TO ADJUST HER "STYLE." SHE SHOULD NOT SPREAD "WHATEVER" FROM WHAT "UNDER" TO EVERYONE WHO COMES IN CONTACT WITH THAT SEAT....(GOSH, WHERE IS OSHA WHEN YOU NEED THEM)...SWA SHOULD NOT HAVE APOLOGIZE TO HER, AND INSTEAD SHOULD HAVE MADE HER GRAB A BUCKET AND CLORAX AND CLEAN UP HER GERMS........GREAT JOB SOUTHWEST ON ADDRESSING THIS ISSUE............I GUESS SHE TOOK THE TERM "BOTTOMS UP" LITTERALLY.............

People here seem to be under the illusion that fares can remain the
same even though fuel prices have doubled. Get real, people. Extra
money has to come from somewhere. Would you rather pay all the extra
on your tickets or would you rather have business travelers carry most
of the increase?

You know and I know that we buy the cheapest tickets we can find.
Southwest knows it too. Southwest is creatively attempting to keep
leisure fares down as much as possible in the face of high fuel
prices. Cut them some slacK: they are doing it for your own good.

I'd rather be able to afford a flight as a "second-class citizen" then
to have to stay home because I couldn't afford to travel on the
"everyone is equal" airline. The latter is not what I'd call "Freedom
to Fly".

Barbara Watson wrote: "For many of us, it's not about being thrifty;
it's about whether we can afford to fly at all." To Barbara I say:
That is exactly why Business Select is your friend, not your enemy.
Money collected from Business Select customers is money that doesn't
have to come out of your pocket. That money has to come from
somewhere.

People who are complaining about A's no longer being affordable would
be the first ones to complain about a massive increase in leisure
fares in the absence of a program like Business Select. They need to
get a grip on financial reality. The status quo is not an option with
oil at $98. It's just not.

On another subject, Gale Thomssen complained about limited
availability and vowed to switch airlines. Gale, do you have any idea
how difficult it has become to redeem a saver award on any airline
other than Southwest or JetBlue? It's a scandal. We'd always like
better availability, especially on Fridays and Sundays, but
Southwest's award tickets are the most usable in the industry. Ask
anyone at flyertalk.com and they'll tell you the same. One other
suggestion: award availability sometimes improves in the last week or
so before a flight. But for Thanksgiving and Christmas you're not
going to get the peak travel dates you want.

Zach K,

I don't know where you are getting your fares from but I just looked at southwest.com and the fare from phx to vegas with 14 days in advance is STILL $59 each way. Maybe you were looking at us airways' website when you saw the 239 roundtrip fare.

I, too, am a faithful Southwest passenger, although not enough of a frequent flyer to get "special status."

Flying Southwest is a trade-off--you trade some convenience for efficiency and price. I believe that most frequent flyers are savvy enough to check in online and get a good boarding pass. Most people that fly have access to the internet. Families with small children can already board early. When we have travelled long distances with a group, we were able to switch around at the first stop and sit with our group. My motto is " if it ain't broke, don't fix it!"

For the people who are saying "just pay the extra fare": I priced the extra fare for my flight, and it was double the fare I paid expecting just the old system with the added numbers. There is no way Southwest can justify this. There are 6 bulkhead seats and 4 exit row seats with extra leg room, but up to 15 tickets are sold at the "business select" fares. This means that as many as 5 people may pay twice as much for no benefit. This is a fraud.

I have no problem with the new system. 6 flights since the change.. I actually enjoyed the boarding process...SWA need not worry, at least with SWA the plane gets you there on time...

We will wave to those who choose to change airlines when our plane leaves the gate and you are still waiting to board your new found airline because you did not like the new system...

You will all be back in time!

The new boarding procedure - brilliant!! The new Business Select program - FANTASTICALLY BRILLIANT!!! I used to fly you ALL the time, but it just got to be too much of a hassle for boarding. I am now back and using your business Select program. It's great to be back - thanks southwest!
BTW - sure wish you would get direct flights from Hobby to New York City back again - when you had the codeshare with ATA - I flew it almost everyweek for awhile. I heard ATA discontinued it 'cause they thought they were competing wiht Jet Blue - I assure you - they were not competing with Jet Blue. But - whatever the reason - please bring back a direct flight from Hobby to New york City!!! LUV ya!

Southwest employees must take charge at the gates. Make people abide by the rules. I've seen people sit in chairs and say i'm in line(no way) stand like everyone else. Handdicapped solution (must have doctors note) these people get on first and jump off (no sign of medical condition) seen it many times. Plus we do not need a family of mom, dad, aunts, uncles, grandparents to help with the baby. please address these things.

i like the A seating change but, still keep it as first come first serve, and go back to the old pricing selections. at first glance it makes you want to check out other airlines for cheaper filghts plus, get you seat assigned right away and that way there is no need to go online 24 hours in advance,.think about it!