Southwest airline to assign seats?

[Faos]

Are the days of the cattle call seating over?

At 35, Southwest's strategy gets more complicated

Posted 7/11/2006 12:20 AM ET
By Dan Reed, USA TODAY

DALLAS — When Donald Cloo of Phoenix boarded Southwest Airlines Flight 2444 Monday in San Diego, he did something no passenger had ever done in the 35-year history of the discount carrier. He sat in an assigned seat.

With that, Dallas-based Southwest began an eight-week test with selected flights out of San Diego to see whether assigning seats will speed up the boarding process and allow the carrier to dispatch its planes quicker.

Southwest says it will make no change in its unique open-seating policy before 2008 — and maybe not even then. But Cloo's assignment to seat 19C on the 137-seat Boeing 737 is indicative of something much larger and much riskier than the way in which customers get on a Southwest jet.

On several fronts, the legendary Texas discounter that has rewritten the rules of air travel in the USA is adjusting to its rapid growth. It's already overcome its former aversion to taking on competitors at their own crowded hub airports. And the day may come when the spartan discounter starts to match some of the in-flight amenities available at other airlines — movies, for example.

Its growth is pushing the carrier uncomfortably close to what executives, flight crews and ordinary workers here always have disdained: a typical big airline. The risk: whether Southwest can balance its rapid growth with the folksy, offbeat approach to air travel that has inspired legions of loyal customers.

CEO Gary Kelly, in an interview, acknowledged that, to an old-timer returning from 20 years on a desert island, Southwest's "maverick aspect probably would be less visible." But, he says, that's mostly because the big traditional airlines have become more like Southwest. And despite the changes, Kelly says, "The soul of our company is unchanged."

Since it began flying in 1971, the lack of assigned seating has been the No. 1 customer complaint. Though some die-hards swear by it, most travelers accept it as a trade-off for Southwest's low fares. Now, though, the industry iconoclast is the USA's No. 6 airline. And it's trying to sell tickets in new markets to customers who didn't grow up with its quirky ways.

Other fronts where Southwest seems to be morphing into a more conventional carrier:

• Fares. Southwest, which long promoted itself as "the low-fare carrier," has shown a new willingness to raise them. It's done so nine times since the middle of last year, including a $10 increase on some longer flights over the July Fourth weekend. In the first quarter, its average one-way fare inched above $100 for the first time.

• Competition. For years, Southwest sought to avoid head-to-head competition with big, traditional airlines. But over the past 26 months, it's launched service at rivals' hubs, first at Philadelphia, a US Airways stronghold, then this year at Denver, a hub to both United and Frontier.

• Amenities. Notoriously bare-bones Southwest is considering adding some type of in-flight entertainment technology, Kelly has said.

• Code sharing. It is moving quickly to develop its fledging partnership with ATA Airlines, which it helped rescue from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Now, Southwest frequent fliers can claim free trips to places the airline itself doesn't go, such as Hawaii and New York City.

• Fleet diversification. Southwest's efficiency is built largely on its all-Boeing 737 fleet. Kelly says that he's "intrigued" by the possibility of flying 100-seat jets in markets with too little demand to support 737 service. He says nothing is currently in the works.

• International flying. In 2008, when the new computer system that permits seat assignments is working, Southwest also will be able to sell tickets in foreign currencies. Kelly says nothing's imminent, but "it's a matter of when, not if" Southwest will launch service to Mexico, Canada, or even the Caribbean.

read the rest here: http://www.usatoday.com/money/biztra...est-usat_x.htm

[DarkHorse]

Whoa. That's all pretty big news.

I think Southwest is due for an upgrade.

[rrj_gamz]

This is interesting, but not a big deal, at least for me...If it helps them get quicker turn around, I'm all for it...

[BigSherv]

There hedge on fuel is about to run out. I bet big changes are on the way.

[RocketManJosh]

This is good news for me. I fly SW all the time out of San Diego, and it will be nice to know where I am sitting and not have to stand in the front of the line to try to get an emergency row seat.

[Saint Louis]

Well I have started to fly other airlines more then Southwest because Southwest is no longer such a great value. I think Southwest is moving away from what made them appealing, a low cost airline.

In August I am flying to STL and had always driven up to Phoenix, about two hour drive, to fly directly to STL on Southwest. Well this year I am flying American out of Tucson with a plane change at DFW. Price of the ticket was the same, but when you factor in the cost of gas for driving to Phoenix, and the fact that parking in Phoenix is way more expensive then Tucson, it is cheaper to fly American.

It took a Southwest sale for the family to use Southwest out of Phoenix to Houston this summer. We had been flying Continental directly from Tucson to Houston. Southwest out of Tucson isn't an option unless you are going to Vegas. Going anywhere else is an expensive all day trip. Southwest isn't offering up the sales like they used to.

[Baqui99]

Southwest isn't as cheap as it used to be, and it's about damn time that they started assigning seats. I always laugh at the cluster***** of people standing around the gate trying to be the first ones on so they can get some overhead space.

[distence]

Originally Posted by Baqui99 Southwest isn't as cheap as it used to be, and it's about damn time that they started assigning seats. I always laugh at the cluster***** of people standing around the gate trying to be the first ones on so they can get some overhead space.

i hate those idiots! i also hate it when people put their hats and jackets in the overhead bins too.

[moestavern19]

Southwest Airlines : No Fat Chicks.

[Mr. Brightside]

Originally Posted by distence i also hate it when people put their hats and jackets in the overhead bins too.

do you hate me when i put my mittens in the overhead bin?

[macalu]

Originally Posted by Baqui99 Southwest isn't as cheap as it used to be, and it's about damn time that they started assigning seats. I always laugh at the cluster***** of people standing around the gate trying to be the first ones on so they can get some overhead space.

maybe they're just standing in line to window seats or exit door seat.
what difference does it make? when they start boarding, there's gonna be a line anyways.

[Rocketman95]

Originally Posted by macalu maybe they're just standing in line to window seats or exit door seat.

That's what I thought, too.

I love Southwest's boarding process. You print out your boarding pass 24 hours in advance and you're pretty much guaranteed to have a window or aisle seat.

[SirCharlesFan]

I don't know about prices from cities other than the ones I am willing to fly out of, but Southwest has had considerably higher prices than just about every other major airline I've checked for the same flights. Even the rates they offer on that ridiculous "Ding!" program aren't as good as some other airlines. I am flying one way on American Airlines, which is usually terribly overpriced, from Tulsa, OK to Detroit for 176 total, while the price on Southwest would have been over 240 bucks. Also, on a flight out of Little Rock, AR to Las Vegas, I would have paid around 400 bucks total for a ticket, while I got a round trip, non stop flight out of Springfield, MO to Vegas for 241 total on Allegiant Airlines. I haven't seen a good deal on Southwest flights in a long, long time. I think airlines like Allegiant and Jet Blue that focus on flying to just a select few popular cities from a ton of smaller airports are the future of discount tickets.