Many Southwest diehards will mourn this change, but Southwest says 80% + passengers and potential passengers want it.
I’m among them. I avoid Southwest like the plague for absolutely no other reason (well aside from that it’s not a primary NYC area carrier) than the open seating. I loathe having to hope for a good boarding group (or pay for one) and then hope I don’t have to jockey like a madman on the plane for an aisle seat (my preferred way to fly). I also don’t like that they have no First Class or even extra legroom options.
While there one be any First Class, there will be assigned seating and you will, for the first time, be able to pay extra for premium “extra legroom” seats.
The announcement isn’t clear on if there will be charges for any seats other than the extra legroom ones. Other airlines monetize seats that are “preferred” – non-middle seats, often in the front portion of the plane and then charge a much higher premium for the extra legroom seats.
As part of the change, they will also begin flying red-eyes. That, I’ll say no thanks to in a standard seat but I’m sure many will be just fine – especially in a new extra legroom seat. Some of you can just sleep anywhere 😉
I’ll definitely be more likely to consider Southwest in the future now that I’ll be able to pick a seat. How about you?
Thoughts?
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