Seat Assignment

[FM2436]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...6051601845.html

DO IT, DO IT, DO IT!!!

 

[ngneer]

Last fall, I had to go to the Dallas area a couple of times and flew on AA LGA-DFW full Y fare. For all flights I was assigned a middle seat. The flights were full so I couldn't change my seat assignment. I haven't found assigned seating to be particularly desirable.

 

[JS]

What a terrible article.

To get a preferred seat, passengers have to arrive at the airport hours before their flight to be among the first group to board.

false

Or they have to remember to check in for their flight via the Internet at least 24 hours before to earn a spot in that early-boarding group.

No, 24 hours is the limit, not the minimum

With a herd of passengers stampeding onto the aircraft to find seats, some travelers have likened the airline's boarding process to a cattle call.

On regular trips to Cleveland from Baltimore, Chevy Chase construction consultant Robert Salmon said he has often bought more expensive tickets on other carriers, such as Continental Airlines to avoid the risk of getting stuck in a middle seat on Southwest. Salmon says he has paid as much as $15 more each way, even when Southwest had lower price tickets available.

OOOOH as much as $15 more, I bet Continental is ordering a new fleet of 777's with all those high-priced fares coming in!

"I'm willing to pay for a reserved seat," Salmon said. "I don't consider [Southwest] because they don't reserve seats."

False; they have reserved seating, they just don't assign the particular physical seat. Those are two different things. Unreserved seating is a city bus where the seating is first-come-first-serve and everyone else has to stand (sort of equivalent to getting bumped on an airline).

 

[dl764]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...6051601845.html

DO IT, DO IT, DO IT!!!

What an awful article. :down: :down: I like non-assigned seats.

 

[markkus757]

I think long-term Southwest will have to consider this and other ideas because they compete more and more with other low fare carriers(non-incumbents) that will offer this. IMO they don't even have to make it that difficult. When you check in, you can select a seat on the day of departure. They have always cried about the amount of money it would be investment-wise to have this feature for their computer systems. This would be the cheapest way to give a lot of passengers what they want. I have flown Southwest only a few times because there was either no one else convenient or they were significantly cheaper. I'm not saying that I fly a lot either, I just think they could attract more business this way.

 

[KCFlyer]

I think long-term Southwest will have to consider this and other ideas because they compete more and more with other low fare carriers(non-incumbents) that will offer this.

I think it would not be too terribly difficult for Southwest to do assigned seats. They are already pretty adept at keeping people from the "wrong" group to cut in line...they don't preboard half the cabin based on "elite" status, so they should be able to get a plane loaded relatively quickly with assigned seats. My only real concern with assigned seats is that thre real benefit for NON assigned seats has been for the person booking at the last minute...pay the highest fare and odds are you get "assigned" a center seat.

As far as "other ideas" - I really don't see them jumping on the IFE bandwagon. Why pull a plane out of service because half the TV's dont' work...or why add the extra weight of IFE systems to burn more fuel? I think with costs being the focus of other airlines - even the low cost competition - IFE will prove to be not worth the extra costs associated with it.

 

[whlinder]

My only real concern with assigned seats is that thre real benefit for NON assigned seats has been for the person booking at the last minute...pay the highest fare and odds are you get "assigned" a center seat.

Just make full fares get A boarding passes automatically. Then check-in time determines the rest, if there are still A's left, good for them, if not, oh well. Problem solved.

 

[sfb]

I don't see IFE as being a necessity for Southwest, either; if you look at some of the routes where they compete with airlines offering IFE (i.e. Song and jetBlue), the IFE really doesn't create much of a fare premium, if any at all. Song only gets a premium of 3-4% over Southwest from BDL to TPA and MCO. JetBlue's LGB-OAK yields are nearly 10% lower than Southwest's LAX-OAK tields. Non-stops on Southwest from BUF to MCO and TPA beat out connections with IFE on jetBlue.

The passengers who are most likely to demand IFE are probably also the most price-sensitive; I think you'd get better bang for the buck for the business traveler by offering broadband Internet connectivity instead which would allow them to remain productive, if desired.

Assigned seats are a mixed bag. A colleague of mine had to travel to California last week on a fairly expensive ticket and ended up with assigned middle seats in both directions due to having to purchase with little advance notice. When I book cheap tickets far in advance, I'm usually able to get great seat assignments due to my frequent flyer status; this seems perverse in that higher-dollar tickets ought to get better perks.

 

[Garfield1966]

On my side of te tracks a certain percent of seats are blocked for full fare / ATO check in. They are usually not released till very close to boarding. This seems to help in most cases.

 

[formeraa]

What an awful article. :down: :down: I like non-assigned seats.

I don't because half the time WN's idiotic interpretation of Bush's ridiculous security rules forces me to check in at the airport. Because of this ridiculously strict interpretation, WN has lost at least $5K in my personal tickets this year. I tried to explain this to the dunces at WN, but all they said is "TSA, TSA, TSA!". None of the other carriers treat me like this. So, it is actually a WN stupid, idiotic problem! Well, I guess WN likes LOSING a valued passenger's business by just blowing him off instead of solving the problem.

 

[NewHampshire Black Bears]

On my side of te tracks a certain percent of seats are blocked for full fare / ATO check in. They are usually not released till very close to boarding. This seems to help in most cases.

==========================================================

GARFIELD...."A tail of two Kitty's"

Coming soon to a theater near you !!

NH/BB's

 

[lostplanetairman]

I don't because half the time WN's idiotic interpretation of Bush's ridiculous security rules forces me to check in at the airport. Because of this ridiculously strict interpretation, WN has lost at least $5K in my personal tickets this year. I tried to explain this to the dunces at WN, but all they said is "TSA, TSA, TSA!". None of the other carriers treat me like this. So, it is actually a WN stupid, idiotic problem! Well, I guess WN likes LOSING a valued passenger's business by just blowing him off instead of solving the problem.

Have you tried adding a middle initial or some other small change to your name like that? My sister was singled out by two airlines in the same manner. I read an article about it and suggested she try that. It worked!

By the way, my seat assignment on US Airways was a real treat Thursday. They assigned me the window seat. Unfortunately, both the asile and middle seats were occupied by two large wheelchair bound passengers. I asked to wait to see if a seat was open. The FA told me to sit in my seat or get off the plane! I had to climb over them while wearing a skirt! Needless to say, the doors of the plane closed and two seats in the row behind me were vacant. So, when I could I climbed over them again while the FA glared at me. Too bad, I had a train to catch when the plane landed and wasn't going to wait until the whole plane disembarked and they got the other two passengers out of the seats!

 

[Blue0ctane]

Since the airline's founding 35 years ago, Southwest executives have been against designated seats, saying it would be costly to print boarding passes.

I call BS. If every other airline can afford it, why can't Southwest?

Ooooh, I know, I know! Because they're a crappy airline and thus do not turn in profits.

 

[SharoninSAT]

I call BS. If every other airline can afford it, why can't Southwest?

Ooooh, I know, I know! Because they're a crappy airline and thus do not turn in profits.

It really has to do with the turnaround

 

[USCREW]

I call BS. If every other airline can afford it, why can't Southwest?

Ooooh, I know, I know! Because they're a crappy airline and thus do not turn in profits.

Just curious octane...you're not an employee and you are not a frequent flyer. You are 13 years old. What could you possibly find interesting on this board? Shouln't you be doing your homework?