Southwest Changes the Cattle Call
Sep. 20th, 2007 09:09 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bjarvisI heard on NPR's Morning Edition while driving to work that Southwest Airlines is adjusting their traditional cattle call seating methodology.
For the uninitiated, Southwest doesn't do seat assignments. Instead, everyone is given a boarding pass with an "A," "B" or "C" on a first-come, first-served basis upon check-in, and each group is released onto the plane in order. You might be the first person at the gate, but if your boarding pass has a "C," two-thirds of the plane boards before you, including anyone who arrives at the last minute with an "A" or "B". Pre-boarding allowances are made for those needing assistance or families with children.
Under the new system, there are still no seat assignments and Southwest will still do the letter assignments but they also print a number to indicate your position in your respective corral. Effectively, your place in line will be held until you get to the gate. As a Southwest flier, this largely means that I'll still have a mad rush to check-in online from home precisely 24 hours before my flight, but there's no reason whatsoever to hurry to the gate since arriving early or late will have no impact in our choice of seats.
What I found most surprising is that Southwest is doing away with pre-boarding for families with children. Outside of opening themselves up to being bashed as non-family friendly, I'm not sure this adjustment will actually save any boarding time or appease their business customers. I'd rather families get a chance to be seated first so I can purposefully take a seat *away* from the potentially screaming babies or seat-kicking toddlers. Then again, perhaps appearing unfriendly to families will reduce the number of screaming & spewing babies and poorly parented children on Southwest flights.
For the uninitiated, Southwest doesn't do seat assignments. Instead, everyone is given a boarding pass with an "A," "B" or "C" on a first-come, first-served basis upon check-in, and each group is released onto the plane in order. You might be the first person at the gate, but if your boarding pass has a "C," two-thirds of the plane boards before you, including anyone who arrives at the last minute with an "A" or "B". Pre-boarding allowances are made for those needing assistance or families with children.
Under the new system, there are still no seat assignments and Southwest will still do the letter assignments but they also print a number to indicate your position in your respective corral. Effectively, your place in line will be held until you get to the gate. As a Southwest flier, this largely means that I'll still have a mad rush to check-in online from home precisely 24 hours before my flight, but there's no reason whatsoever to hurry to the gate since arriving early or late will have no impact in our choice of seats.
What I found most surprising is that Southwest is doing away with pre-boarding for families with children. Outside of opening themselves up to being bashed as non-family friendly, I'm not sure this adjustment will actually save any boarding time or appease their business customers. I'd rather families get a chance to be seated first so I can purposefully take a seat *away* from the potentially screaming babies or seat-kicking toddlers. Then again, perhaps appearing unfriendly to families will reduce the number of screaming & spewing babies and poorly parented children on Southwest flights.
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Sounds workable
Date: 2007-09-20 01:51 pm (UTC)"Q: Do families still get to pre-board?
A: Beginning October 2, 2007, an adult traveling with a child four years old or younger will board between the "A" and "B" boarding groups, unless you have an "A" boarding pass. Those Customers holding an "A" boarding pass should board with the "A" boarding group. With an all-jet fleet outfitted with comfortable, leather seats, our families traveling with small children are easily accommodated together."
I'm with you though, get the families with kids on board so that I can avoid them when I choose my seat. Also, if I'm in the A group and the families with small kids are in the A group........
Re: Sounds workable
Date: 2007-09-20 02:12 pm (UTC)This sounds like a decent family-friendly compromise, letting the keeners and business folks get their pick first, but still let the family groups on while there's a chance at getting adjacent seats.
I'm still willing to body-check little old ladies and crush small children to get an emergency row seat. :-)
Re: Sounds workable
Date: 2007-09-20 02:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-20 01:58 pm (UTC)I doubt it. If SW is the cheapest, families (especially those with younger children) are likely to continue using them, no matter how family-unfriendly they may be [perceived as], simply to save money, especially in the current US economy.
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Date: 2007-09-20 02:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-20 02:29 pm (UTC)But yes, People Are Stooopidd(tm).
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Date: 2007-09-20 02:36 pm (UTC)I sometimes despair for the future of our species.
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Date: 2007-09-20 02:04 pm (UTC)That would give me a reason to fly Southwest, which is annoying difficult to do from Boston since you have to go all the way to either Providence or to Manchester, NH. Still, for a long brat-free flight, it may be worth it.
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Date: 2007-09-20 02:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-20 02:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-20 02:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-20 05:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-20 02:08 pm (UTC)As to families - I'd pay extra to fly planes that didn't allow anyone under the age of 12 to travel. Mind you, it kind of puts an end to my new business idea. I had planned to open 'rent a baby' franchises at major airports. A bit like those rent a DVD ones, you'd rent a baby at LA, then return it at SF; thus assuring early boarding. I just haven't worked out how to get the initial inventory.
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Date: 2007-09-20 02:14 pm (UTC)1. Grab a few from your local minimum-security orphanarium.
2. Borrow one from the local daycare center. I'm sure one or two wouldn't be missed.
Dan's Baby Rental
Date: 2007-09-20 02:53 pm (UTC)this idea will still work with most airlines who allow for pre-boarding. As to inventory - the Japanese techno-whizzes have managed to make a very realistic robot dog and cat, I'm sure they could come up with a robot 5 month old human. They'd be popular, as they'd never fuss (or at least, the "parents" would be able to control when the infants wailed or not), and like rental cars, you wouldn't have to get them back to the original rental location immediately.
I tell ya, the idea has legs. go for it! fortunes to be made here!
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Date: 2007-09-20 02:34 pm (UTC)Perhaps they'll do it in groupings, i.e. Group A, #'s 1-20?
I'll make sure I don't have travel plans during those first few days of chaos!
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Date: 2007-09-20 02:39 pm (UTC)Our next flight on Southwest is at the end of October.
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Date: 2007-09-20 03:56 pm (UTC)It'll be interesting to see how it works. Right now, boarding is relatively fast.
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Date: 2007-09-20 04:06 pm (UTC)Of course, if you bring your wheelchair, you're guaranteed all the love and affection an airline can provide. :-)
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Date: 2007-09-20 04:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-20 02:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-20 04:24 pm (UTC)It may be a fluke, but with the current system, as long as I've got an A board or an early spot in line with a B board, I always find a seat where I like it, between 6 and 8 aisle.
I've noticed the confusion now seems to be that many of the A board folks seem to just sit in a row of gate seats rather than standing in line, so it's hard to tell where the line actually IS for A.
Danny mentioned the Rent-a-Baby idea a couple of years ago...thought it was a hoot! I'm more up for the Rent-a-Leg-Cast business model for preboarding.
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Date: 2007-09-21 02:08 am (UTC)