I have been a very loyal Southwest business customer for the past 5 years. I can't stand the rediculous prices charged by my local legacy airline here in Cincinnati nor their tiny RJ jets that they try to cram all of us 6' + people into. I typically drive 2 hours to fly Southwest out of IND-SDFor CMH.
I have put up with the plastic preboard cards, the people cramming through the gate, and the long drives to these outlying airports because WN was always fun to fly. I could change my schedule last minute and get on an earlier flight if I finished my business early, and your FAs, CSRs and pilots were always pleasant. I always check in the day before, get my A and my preferred seat. My kids have enjoyed all those free tickets and my wife her CP the past several years.
However, after reading all of the above posts, I'm still unsure about whether assigned seating will benefit WN or not. I think you might loose some loyal business customers like me that are used to the current system and don't want to change. That wouldn't cause me to leave but several other things that are happening lately will.
I am actually finding better fares now on the legacy carriers (except for the one based in my hometown). However, I am really getting tired of the people lining up an hour in advance of the plane showing up at the gate. Isn't that a stupid practice? Just watching it irks me. With more people flying WN now, I am seeing more and more preboards, not just families with kids and elderly, but a lot of people that look healthier than me. And lastly, the changes in your RR program are dissappointing to me and really reduced the value of those 2 hour drives to a WN city for me, especially at $3+ gallon gas. I probably won't earn a CP this year with th elimination of 2X point opportunities, and now there are limited seats available to use a RR ticket.
I am flying out of of San Diego with my wife in August and I hope we aren't on a "test flight" for assigned seating unless you let me know in advance, not when I get to the gate.
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