Saving Seats is WRONG and violates the open seating policy SW advertises

[sflowers0425]

Please sign my petition on MoveOn.org  Southwest is clearly openly defrauding their customers by allowing bad actors to abuse the open seating policy 

https://petitions.moveon.org/sign/saving-seats-is-wrong?source=c.em.cp&r_by=6585025

This issue is NOT RESOLVED

[jksobonya]

I've seen quite a few threads about 'seat' savers and people's displeasure of it - as far as I'm concerned, people can sit where they want, and Southwest does not approve or disprove of 'saving' seats because they have no official policy on it. 

I've flown Southwest for 10+ years and maybe I've always been blind or unaware of my surroundings, but people saving seats has never once been an issue for me. As a solo traveler, I almost always get an aisle or window seat in the first 10ish rows of the plane, period. I'm not picky. I don't go for the Exit row. If people want to fight over those seats, knock yourself out, but that's not a hill I am willing to die on lol. 

The solution, if you are unhappy with the seat savers, is to go to every other airline on Planet Earth where you pick exactly the seat you want. Problem solved. No assigned seats? Then this is potentially what you will have to deal with (but to reiterate, I never have). I'd rather fly with Southwest's no assigned seating, free bag check, no *change fees*, and a myriad of other pluses, than any other airline that may have reserved seating, but many more restrictions for everything else. 

--Jessica

[dfwskier]

I WILL NOT be signing your petition.

Southwest DOES NOT prohibit seat saving. It is Southwest's way of allowing people that know one another (families and others) to sit next to one another  on a plane where reserving seats is not possible.

[msp1954]

I understand.  However, if this is the way SW wants to operate, then it needs to change the announcements by FA's and stated open seating policy. Since nearly every SW flight I have boarded has Flight Attendants make an announcement saying SW has an "open seating policy" which on face value equates to (and some have said this), "any unoccupied seat is available for passengers to sit in." How can you say that these FA statement are the same as saying "no seat saving". If this isn't what it means, then the FA's should be saying we have open seating, but you may save a seat next to you for a family member or friend. You really can't have it both ways.

[Passenger1C]

@sflowers0425  I'm sure SWA is sorry to lose you as a passenger, but would never want to hold you back from finding another airline that works best for you. 

Safe travels! 

[buzzchris]

I have posted a few times regarding this issue. I don't mind if a person saves one seat (their spouse, friend etc) but not a whole row or three rows which has happened. (It was on You Tube).  Also, there should be absolutely no saved seats in the emerg exit rows. Passengers in business class or early bird specials are often trying for those seats. I traveled a lot before I retired and I saw fights almost break out or verbal confrontations  over saved seats in the emerg row. The FAs, standing there, did nothing except to say there is no SW saving seat policy. I have actually seen one man forcefully block the emerg row with his body and hands, blocking some passnegers actually trying for those emerg row seats. There was a verbal confronatation.  His friends, group C, took the seats. SW won't do anything about this. 

[dfwskier]

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@buzzchris wrote:

I have posted a few times regarding this issue. I don't mind if a person saves one seat (their spouse, friend etc) but not a whole row or three rows which has happened. (It was on You Tube).   

You keep saying that ...

Link?????

[oorah06]

Yes, my friends and I saw this incident on YouTube but it has been three years ago. I really don't believe this is the norm.   However, from what I understand, a passenger attempted to send the link to SW. The video and link disappeared about a week later.  Odd. No news flash here, but links tend to disappear if YT challenged with the posting or if not PC. 

[ffflyer]

SWA may not come out and say it but their actions obviously say that you can save as many seats as you want. The FAs will not intervene. 

Our choices are to go along with this or fly another airline. 

For me, SWA is almost always the lowest cost, most convenient, and most on time choice. But my frustration grows with each flight. 

Seeing people in line ahead of me who didn't pay for EB, along with the ever growing line of pre-boarders and seat savers is making me take a hard look at other airlines.

[dfwskier]

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@ffflyer wrote:

SWA may not come out and say it but their actions obviously say that you can save as many seats as you want. The FAs will not intervene. 

Our choices are to go along with this or fly another airline. 

For me, SWA is almost always the lowest cost, most convenient, and most on time choice. But my frustration grows with each flight. 

Seeing people in line ahead of me who didn't pay for EB, along with the ever growing line of pre-boarders and seat savers is making me take a hard look at other airlines.

---

No airline is perfect.

With SW you've got early boarders and seat savers.

With everybody else you get charges for

1) specific seats

2) checked baggage

3)   up to $200 to use travel funds that happen as a result of changing/cancelling flights

4)   carry ons - for some

5)   beverages / snacks for some

6) forgetting to print your boarding pass before getting to the airport fo some

You pick your poison.

For me it's a no brainer -- SW all the way -- maybe because in my over 600 flights over the last 20 years, I have never seen a "seat saving" altercation, and seldom have a problem finding an appropriate seat.