Gary, can you feel the LUV yet for open seating? I can. It's great, isn't it? There are lots of interesting comments in this list that has been created in such a short time. It seems open seating is the preferred method of travel for the largest portion of domestic travelers! What a great thing.
As the leader in domestic travel, for numerous reasons (open seating seems to be one), certainly when you start hitting Cancun and Hawaii, you will be the leader in and out as well. What a concept !!! I know, it hasn't been mentioned, but it sure sounds good! So, when are you starting???? Are you going to include Puerto V and Acapulco as well?
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I fly a little. I suppose I you could say that as I do have a Companion Pass. I prefer the present method of seating. I have had to fly other airlines, and it gets very irritating. You'd think if there was going to be assigned seats, they would board back to front. Well, they board by groups (Group 1 thru 6 perhaps). It could just as easily be A thru C. Anyway, they intermix people in the front, the back etc in each group. Now that my friend, is ineffieciency. They let the frequent flyers and first class enter first, then evryone else. So they have people standing in line, in the middle of the plane so the lady or gentleman that wants row 7, seat F can get his bags situated and then get out of the isle. The same thing happens on Southwest today with unassigned seating. The difference, people are looking for an open seat, not a ROW NUMBER, and the Southwest way is faster. You will never see an AA plane boarded faster.
The only thing I can think of that will help reduce boarding time is telling people they can have one carry on, and one computer, and the carry on has to fit into the container. Period !!! I can't tell you how many times I have seen people carry on a bag they know will not fit, and then have to give it up to the flight attendent in the back of the plane, and she has to wait until everyone is boarded, and then has to struggle with carrying it to the front. Yes, I have offered to carry bags for several to the front. I generally sit in the back of the plane on most flights...I like it.
Now if you want to give a preference to the frequent flyers, you could allow everyone with a Companion Pass to board first. I wrote Colleen with that suggestion quite a long time ago.
I have protested the Wright Amendment forever. I don't live in the Dallas area anymore, but I still protest it everytime I think about it. You see, Southwest is Southwest. American doesn't like Southwest because it is profitable, the employees are happy, flights get in and out, etc. You said yourself, a plane on the ground is not making money. You cannot speed up boarding by having assigned seats. Further to this, you would kill people like me, the frequent fliers, that book flights maybe three to seven days in advance.
Again, Southwest is Southwest. I prefer it, that is why I fly it. I prefer unassigned seats. Why would you want to change to make yoursel more like the other airlines? Bad mistake. I hear people gripe about having to wait in line all the time. It seems it is always the people that fly very infrequent that complain. They complain about waiting in line. Well, guess what my friend, they wait to board the other airlines, they just wait in a "bunch," not a line. Same difference. You have to be at the airport an hour or so early whether you are flying Southwest or one of the others. What is the difference?
And by the way, to those of you that can't stand flying next to a kid, or may be griping because a Mother and Child get on at the end, with one seat next to you, and one 10 rows away....shame on you for not giving up your seat and trading with the Mother!!!!!!
PLEASE DO NOT CHANGE A THING! SOUTHWEST IS SOUTHWEST! YOU ARE A LEADER, NOT A FOLLOWER!!!
Have a blessed day!
John - Claremore, OK
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