Southwest has always been known for their policy of free rein on seats. Anyone could sit anywhere, picking prime spots as they boarded. But, recently this changed, as reported by CNBC. The well-loved option was taken away by Southwest. They replaced it with the dreaded standard assigned seating. As well as this, they also took away free baggage.
Customers were obviously super unhappy over this - who doesn't like to pick their seat, after all? In a post on Reddit, people had wildly different experiences after the change.
One customer commented, "As someone who [flies] 120 flights a year boarding was so slow today jesus... I hope this cuts into profits so we see the old ways come back". Another said, "Horrible experience on the first flight... Nowhere for me to bag. Took forever to board."
But it wasn't all bad. Others found it wasn't as bad as they'd thought it would be. Someone wrote, "I'm sitting in 16A right now. Empty row... Got my premium pistachios, and the FA asked if I wanted more Diet Coke and thanked me for my loyalty. Not too bad for my first flight with assigned seating on Southwest Airlines."
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Southwest Put Out a Letter to Customers
I think Southwest must have heard all the commotion, because they've commented on the changes, as reported by Parade.
The Executive Vice President Chief Customer and Brand Officer (what a mouthful!) Tony Roach put out a letter to customers, pledging to tweak the boarding process.
In the letter, Roach wrote, "As we've transitioned from open seating to assigned seating, the feedback we've received has been invaluable,"
"We've already made several enhancements and will continue refining the experience to reward your loyalty while delivering the industry's best operational reliability and hospitality."
Flowery words, right? But he also added some more tangible changes they planned to make. They said they'd be looking to improve "overhead bin availability" near passengers' seats. This means that people could put their luggage over their head, rather than in the middle of the plane.
But maybe the best "enhancement" they could make is going back to the old system.
