Southwest Airlines Community

Thanks for the update, it is appreciated!! One note about IE6 compatibility from a web developer -- I wouldn't put too much effort into it, if I were you. Even Microsoft wants people to get rid of IE6, as it doesn't meet many of the standards for modern websites. They even have a website counting down the percentage of IE6 use!! http://www.ie6countdown.com/ ... View more

Mr. Kelly, I truly hope you're reading all of these comments. Can you imagine customers of American, Delta, United, or any carrier other than SWA being so passionate about their airline? Of course not. Because after Southwest, all of the other airlines are the same. There is nothing to differentiate American from Delta, United from Continental. But Southwest is different. I hope you're noticing that the majority of those of us in favor of keeping the open seating policy are loyal Southwest customers. Many of them, myself included, never fly another airline. On the other hand, the majority of the posters requesting assigned seating seem to be people who rarely, or never, fly Southwest. I've seen many comments along the lines of "I'll never fly Southwest while you still have open seating" and "I could never take that cattle call lineup." So, I'll ask you to consider this -- if you do move to assigned seating, are you selling out your current and loyal customers in favor of *potential* new customers, who may or may not fly Southwest? The formula works, and customer loyalty proves it. Can you even imagine another airline having a blog this active, or a hit TV show? Granted, a lot of my loyalty to Southwest revolves around your wonderful employees. I cannot honestly say that I'll stop flying SWA if you move to assigned seating. But I'll be a lot less enthusiastic about it; and I'll fully expect your on-time record to drop significantly, drop towards that of other airlines. I don't see any way you can keep your industry-leading turnaround times with assigned seating. I hope that your "experiment" in San Diego is proving that. I hope the San Diego experiment is a colossal and dismal failure. But above all, I hope you're reading these comments and noting that your most loyal customers are asking, begging, pleading that SWA's seating policy remain exactly as it is. In a time when corporations struggle to maintain customer loyalty, when consumers switch brands without any loyalty at all, Southwest has an amazingly loyal group of fans -- not customers, but fans. Please don't test this loyalty by making SWA like every other crummy airline out there. You've inherited a marvelous company from Herb, Colleen, and the others -- don't run it into the ground. ... View more

Moving to assigned seating would be a COLOSSAL mistake for SWA!!! Why would Southwest, the only airline currently turning a profit, want to change one of the major aspects that sets them apart from other airlines? Boarding times will suffer drastically if SWA implements assigned seating. What gives SWA the ability to have industry-leading turnaround times is the fact that people show up early, queue up even before the incoming plane arrives, to be sure to get the seat they want. With assigned seating, you remove that incentive. People will dawdle, get to the gate later, sit in the gate area longer before boarding the plane. Southwest's amazing 20-minute turnaround times will disappear. Again -- why would SWA want to be like the other airlines? The other airlines are lousy!!! One more Rapid Rewards member, and a loyal, exclusively-Southwest customer for six years, saying: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!!!" ... View more