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November 27, 2007
Southwest: The Battleship-Style Seating System
Am I the only one irritated by Southwest's new-ish queuing system for flights? Like many, I cordially disliked the airlines's prior A/B/C snaking lines, but I tolerated the damn things in the spirit of how the supposedly led to lower fares.
Now, however, that detente goes out the window. The three-week-old seating methodology is much more complex, with a Battleship-like code -- A3! B7! You sunk my seat! -- replacing the old lines.
Riddle me this. How is this new system any less complicated than just giving me a seat? Because it sure as hell strikes me as worse.
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Maybe with this extra hassle they estimate they will save one or two minutes in the boarding process. Now they will have a couple of extra turnovers of each plane, maybe once a year. If they still have passengers.
Southwest's new battleship seating combined with online checkin I think has erased its advantage. The old style ABC seating combined with airport check-in created urgency to get to both the airport and the gate promptly.
Is it possible that Southwest needs to deal with Americans' tendency to, ah, have a wider variety of body shapes than in the past, by ensuring that certain particularly uniquely-sized people can use the aisle and/or front seats?
"In the event of a water landing, the man sitting next to you - and taking up your entire armrest - can be used as a flotation device."