I am against any change to assigned seating. In many cases I've found on a practical level that it doesn't work that well. People who want to sit together or want different seats have often taken mine, and ask if it's OK to switch. That's an uncomfortable situation, and occured too often.
But most importantly, I see assigned seating as a step towards what I hate the most on most airlines: a society of different classes. On almost every airline there are significant controls placed on seat requests ... held open for frequent business flyers, etc. I do not want to see assigned seating leading to special line, first boarding privileges and other upgrades reserved for "higher" class travelers. Southwest to me has always represented the common travelers, all equal.
Assigned seating also has further disadvantage to travelers in that the later you book, the more likely you are to get undesirable seats. At least with the "cattle call" you still have an good opportunity to sit where you want, even if you weren't the first to call in.
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