I left American Airlines a little over three years ago after 30 years and more than 4 million miles flown. I switched to Southwest for a few reasons:
The majors had a broken business model; Southwest had a ground up better model that worked.
Southwest provided soultions to my flying problems; cost,on time departures and arrivals,warm and welcoming customer service, familiar equipment, highly efficient processes, and upbeat culture and a successville attitude.
I have now read of two proposed changes regarding limiting of rapid rewards seats and most recently assigned seating.
My first reaction was that it sounded like what I had just left for something better. Please don't attempt to borrow processes from broken models.
As to assigned seating, with the advent of on line check in, it works better than anything on any airlines. I read that some of the Pa. passengers were having trouble becoming acustomed to it; so did I at first but i am a firm convert and would not like to see southwest go backward. Look to your success not to some part of the country's passengers having trouble adapting to change.Compromise will erode your long built and fully paid for culture.
With respect to limited allocations of Rapid Reward seats; I left that also. I really like to take my wife as offten as possible and many of my trips are planned days ahead at best; I have never had a problem on S/ W but on A/A and Delta it would be impossible.
I have lost trust and confidence in the integrity of the other airlines allocation processes, depreciation of award milage balances as the airlines "monkey' around with the milage requirements per catagory and varying allocation percentages. They have under cut the value loyal flyers like me paid to put in the bank years ago. They have lost trust. If S/ W goes there you will have difficulty maintaining your integrity also as the next generation of new hires begin to figure out how to lower your cost exposure or squeeze a litle more revenue per seat mile.
Be careful; you have well deserved respect, loyalty and trust of your current customers; but as can be seen it can be eroded. I used to fly to Phoenix on A/A thru DFW , changing planes; out of loyalty at the same time you were flying non stop from Nashville. You came into Nashville after A/A pulled out saying they could not make money in the market. They has 30 plus years in the market and many loyal customers. Slowly they lost many of them to the same experiences I had.
Best to you and thanks for listening( something the others don't bother to do either)
Derril Reeves
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