Southwest Airlines to eliminate seating 'cattle call'

AP via Oakland Tribune ^ | 9/19/7

[SmithL]

DALLAS - Say goodbye to the Southwest Airlines "cattle call."

The Dallas-based airline says it is making changes to its longtime open seating policy to assign a specific pecking order to travelers waiting to board their Boeing 737 jets.

Starting in early November, customers of Southwest Airlines Co. will be assigned a letter-number combination on their boarding passes, which will reserve their spot in their boarding group. According to a Southwest statement, when a gate agent calls a boarding group, passengers will take their place in their numerical order.

Southwest has tested the new boarding system since last month at San Antonio International Airport after it quit a flirtation last summer with assigned seating in San Diego.

[SmithL]

I still hate flying Southwest.

[Mr. Jeeves]

Southwest is fine. Good fares and they are usually on-time, which is what really matters. And now that you can check in on-line 24 hours in advance, there’s no problem getting the seat you want. They annoy the type of business traveler who likes to show up five minutes before departure after spending all afternoon drinking cocktails in the lounge, because they often push back from the gate five minutes early...but some customers just can’t be satisfied. ;)

[Southside_Chicago_Republican]

I used to like this, mainly because I like sitting in the back of the plane and, no matter when I checked in, it was no problem getting one of those seats. But I don't always have access to a computer and printer within 24 hours of my flight and lately, even though I always arrive early to the airport, I'm always stuck in the C line. I guess I'll have to experience the new setup to really understand how it would work. I'm also trying to picture how this would work in an airport like Philadelphia. The place really wasn't designed to have 3 lines of people cutting straight through the seating area at the gate. Simply lining up has become a hassle, and there is often a dispute between those people who are standing in line and those who are sitting in line, as to which has the rightful place in line. Now people will have to line up not only by letter, but by number as well?

[rawhide]

Hmmm, I am not in favor of the cattle call. This might be a good change.

However, thinking about what also could have been done. I came up with another idea.

They could let people board based on when they purchased their ticket. The earlier you purchased your ticket, the earlier you can board and choose your seat(s).