Southwest just announced several big changes including seat assignments and premium seating. What do you think of these changes? Will this change your opinion of Southwest?
I am a Southwest Airlines flight attendant & this will make my job easier. When families check in or board late, I won’t have to move other passengers (sometimes unwillingly) so the family can sit together. Also, people “save” the middle seat but really they just don’t want anyone sitting there. This slows down the boarding process. Don’t get me wrong, I love my job and the passengers which is why I work for Southwest! But people can’t seem to decide where to sit (too many options) and this also slows down boarding. Glad to see my company listened!
1 Like
As a SW customer who is a non-service animal, non-veteran, non-child, mobile adult, I NEVER got the “good” seats even when I was in A group. It’s a safe bet those “good” seats I never could get will now be considered premium. Now, we’ll see how much they are worth to someone for the leg room and convience of being upfront or at the emergency exit.
OVerall I am very satisfied with Southwest, but one thing that bugged me…a couple of years ago I had to book with just a day or two advance. I opted for the “early bird” check in and paid the fee. I got to the airport and my boarding group was C44. And I paid $25 to “move up”
I look forward to being able to reserve a seat on Southwest. I’ve seen customers “save” a seat for a friend, which shouldn’t happen . . . ever. I hope two free checked bags continues with Southwest.
The end user always pays.
1 Like
I like Southwest for 2 reasons. Open seating and Early Bird boarding. I travel with my guitar. I am always able to get an aisle seat and store my guitar in the overhead. I’ve been loyal to Southwest for those specific reasons. I don’t know how this will play out but I suspect my travel will be more complicated or more expensive or both. One reason it will be more complicated is I will have to check other airlines instead of only booking with Southwest (for at least the last 8 years).
1 Like
I already posted but forgot to comment on the customer survey about assigned seating. I’m calling BS on >80% of customers wanting assigned seating.
1 Like
My husband, daughter and I have been big fans of Southwest the last 10-15 years or so. We liked the open seating, didn’t use the free checked bags much, and it seemed you could get a better boarding number if you checked in at the gate early but now it’s determined (in part?) by when you check in online. All three of us are informed, on-the-ball, early and don’t have special needs, so we felt rewarded for our efforts trying to be good customers. Southwest won’t be priority for us on future trips after they make this change.
Ha. Well, I could be wrong about their research. My opinion was just that. I flew Southwest 30+ times a year for about 5 yrs starting about 10 years ago. I had status back then so I always had early boarding. Now, I pay for it.
Talking with other people in line I never heard anyone who did not appreciate SW boarding and seating. I flew SW after I left Atlanta where I flew Delta for 10 years. I had status on Delta also. Their assigned seat boarding by status was terrible. Free for all cattle call.
People who do not fly Southwest often cite their reason is “no assigned seats”.
Oh, and I saw a post after our posts agreeing with me. Don’t know if it helped my percentages.
My post wasn’t criticizing open seating. I don’t mind it, but the only thing I would suggest is that if the only seats left are in the C group, maybe tell the customer that before they pay the early bird fee.
And this introduces one of the problems with “early bird” check in. If two or more people are travelling together, only one pays for early bird and then “saves” the other seats. That’s not fair to the others that did pay.
A side issue - I flew to Dallas a lot when my daughter was 5 and we never “preboarded” because there was no reason to. She didn’t have a car seat, I didn’t have to carry her and she had no special needs. Yet I see some with kids who are 10 preboarding. That’s the same on other airlines.
I could have flown Southwest many times but never have- because I want to know I have an assigned seat aboard the flight, and the wife can sit next to me.
Now that they have assigned seating, I will give Southwest a try.
I’m indifferent. Guess it’s fine to have assigned seats. I fly SW when available as fares are usually a little lower but never higher than the big 3. I do pay Early Bird but if there have been 60 people before you that also paid for that, you’ll still end up in C-group. Just smile and sit in a middle seat toward the front and you’ll be one of the first off the plane. 
I don’t enjoy paying extra for seats on the other airlines but sometimes I suck it up and do it as I prefer aisle. The 2 free bags will keep most if not all SW customers happy, especially as bag fees have recently increased on the others.