Overall, my experience with Southwest was pretty good. The prices are reasonable, staff was courteous, and the company seems to be generous when compensating people for lost goods and baggage. However, the seat sharing issue really needs to be clarified by the corporate office via official policy. This is a recent experience that highlights the need for change. I was flying on Southwest from Nashville to Chicago for work. Three women (I'll call them Thing 1, Thing 2, and Thing 3) were on the same flight and serving as chaperones for a group of teen girls heading to a sports tournament in Chicago-this was during summer break for the kids. It should be noted that the flight was full. Thing 1, Thing 2, and Thing 3 were normal adult females, not young kids or adults with special needs or disabilities. Thing 1 and Thing 2 both had "B" boarding priorities, but Thing 3 had a "C" boarding ticket. Thing 1's strategy to aviod having a seatmate in her row of 3 was loudly talk to Thing 2 about her Body Odor and how sweaty she was. I found a seat 2 rows from her, and was observing her behavior. Thing 1 and Thing 2 attempted to hold the middle seat for Thing 3, but a gentlemen with a "B" ticket wanted to sit in the row. Thing 1 said no and that she was saving for her friend. The gentlemen said that there was no reserved seating, especially in a full flight. He called the flight attendant and had her intervene. The flight attendant threatened to kick Thing 1 off flight if she didn't let the guy sit in the row. The captain even said over intercom that it was only a 40 minute flight, and that you may have to sit next to a stranger. Resolution; Thing 1 stayed in the window seat, Thing 2 moved to middle seat, and Thing 3 found one of the last remaining seats. I bet that the daughter of Thing 1 received some grief from her girlfriends for her Mom's behavior. The flight crew did a good job resolving the situation, but Southwest's corporate should step up to keep things like this from happening across the company.
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