My daughter travelled on SW from FLA to California this summer. There was one stop in Texas, each way. The boarding experience is already stressful enough, because there are no assigned seats. Could Southwest perhaps lend a hand to help reduce the stress? On each leg there were other passengers who were 'saving seats'. Is this really allowed? There are other couples who travel together, taking the aisle and the window seat while placing a purse or a bag or even holding hands across the middle seat to discourage other travelers from using that seat. For example, when making the boarding announcements could the SouthWest Representative perhaps remind everyone that 'saving seats' is not allowed. Perhaps a cheerful reminder that we are all travelling together and we should treat each other with courtesy and respect. Just my thoughts. When I travel myself, I try to avoid SW just because of the 'no assigned seats' catch. The whole SouthWest boarding experience seems to bring out the worst in some travelers. I'd rather pay a bit more to travel --- have an assigned seat --- and not be able to take two free checked bags. Having an assigned seat means more to me than having a checked bag. The very least SW could do is try to mitigate the stress by encouraging everyone to be courtesy, kind, and respectful to their fellow travelers during the painful boarding process.
... View more
