Boston passengers react to Southwest ending open seating; ‘It makes more sense’

THE CHANGE. I KIND OF LIKE IT. I THINK IT’LL BE GREAT. I’M GOOD WITH IT. I THINK THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, IT WORKS. WHEN SOUTHWEST ENDS, ITS LONG STANDING OPEN SEATING POLICY AND ASSIGNED SEATS MAKE THEIR DEBUT. MOST PASSENGERS SAY THEY’RE HERE FOR IT. MAKES MORE SENSE THAN USUAL, BECAUSE THEN YOU ACTUALLY, LIKE, KNOW WHERE YOU’RE ABOUT TO SIT COMPARED TO WALK IN THERE, AND THEN YOU’RE IN THE BACK ROW OUT OF NOWHERE. I LIKE TO KNOW WHERE I’M SITTING. YOU KNOW, THAT WAY I CAN PLAN, YOU KNOW, NOT BE SO ANXIOUS. AND YEAH, IT WORKS FOR ME. I’M GOOD WITH IT. SOUTHWEST SAYS IT’S PART OF THE PLAN TO IMPROVE THEIR FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE AND CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE. AND WITH THE SWITCH, THE URGENT NEED TO CHECK IN RIGHT AWAY TO GET A GOOD BOARDING SPOT GOES BY THE WAYSIDE. YOU DON’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT, UH, CHECKING IN 24 HOURS IN ADVANCE AND GETTING A SEAT ASSIGNMENT. I WAS ASKING LIKE MY MOM OR DAD TO DO THAT FOR ME. I WANT TO GET AWAY FROM GETTING IN THOSE CATTLE LINES, BUT SOME AREN’T TOTALLY SOLD. SOUTHWEST OPEN SEATING MEANT AN OPEN PLAYING FIELD FOR EVERYONE. THE ONE THING I LIKE ABOUT THE OPEN SEATING IS THAT EVERYONE HAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO GET WHATEVER SEAT THEY WANT. NOW YOU’LL HAVE TO PAY MORE FOR PREMIUM SEATS WITH MORE LEGROOM, A WAY FOR THE AIRLINE TO CASH IN, BUT FOR SOUTHWEST, FREQUENT FLIERS, IT’S NO BIG DEAL. I DON’T THINK IT’LL CHANGE ANYTHING. I MEAN, WE’VE FLOWN A LOT THIS SUMMER, SO I MEAN, PROBABLY KEEP ON DOING IT. NOW, SOUTHWEST SAYS IT WILL ALSO BE CHANGING THE WAY PASSENGERS BOARD THE PLANE, AS WELL AS THE WAY THE SEATS ARE LAID OUT ON THE PLANE, SAYING THEY EXPECT ABOUT A THIRD OF SEATS TO NOW HAVE THAT EXTRA LEGROOM. BUT YOU WON’T BE SEEING THOSE SEATS UNTIL SOMETIME NEXT

Boston passengers react to Southwest ending open seating; ‘It makes more sense’

Updated: 6:36 PM EDT Jul 25, 2024

Southwest Airlines plans to drop the open-boarding system it has used for more than 50 years and will start assigning passengers to seats, just like all the other big airlines.

Southwest Airlines plans to drop the open-boarding system it has used for more than 50 years and will start assigning passengers to seats, just like all the other big airlines.