Southwest Airlines Is Getting Rid of Open Seating on Flights – WSJ:
Southwest Airlines will soon assign seats on flights and sell some with extra legroom, making sweeping changes in a bid to broaden its appeal to passengers and boost revenue.
Hurray!
The airline said it surveyed thousands of customers to understand what they want and what they would be willing to pay for. It found that 80% favored assigned seats—an overwhelming share that Jordan said took him by surprise. “Our customers really, really, really want it,” he said.
And the carrier is betting it can bring in more fliers, including those who wouldn’t have previously considered Southwest. As Southwest makes a bigger push for corporate travelers, it has found road warriors have little interest in playing seating roulette.
Couldn’t agree more. I fly Southwest as a last resort only because of their open seating arrangement. This change will likely move them to first on my list—especially if they retain the bags fly free policy.