New Southwest boarding policy pits business travelers against families
— -- Ask a random group of fliers about Southwest Airlines' open seating policy, and you're certain to hear strong opinions on both sides of the issue. But the airline's recent decision to eliminate pre-boarding for families with small children has alienated many loyal customers, while many others are openly (or secretly) applauding the move.
Since early October families with small children are no longer allowed to pre-board the aircraft before other customers. Now families must board along with the A group or after that group if they are unable to secure an A priority boarding pass at check-in. For those families now sandwiched between the A and B groups, this new "A-and-a-half" boarding status means that 60 regular passengers may board the flight ahead of families with small children.
This change precedes Southwest's forthcoming numbered boarding system scheduled to commence November 8th, where all passengers will receive a boarding priority number within their respective A, B, or C group. The numbered boarding priority will eliminate the need for all customers to stand in line but will not improve the boarding status for families with small children.
These new boarding procedures are aimed at streamlining the boarding process and allowing passengers to shop or grab a meal instead of queuing up at the gate an hour before the flight according to Southwest spokesperson, Brandy King. But the elimination of pre-boarding for families actually increased the boarding time and precipitated a tense and chaotic situation on my recent Southwest flight from Kansas City to Oakland.
Usually, boarding anywhere in the A group assures a wide selection of available aisle seats. But on this flight most seats on the aircraft were already filled when I boarded because 60 through passengers from Baltimore to Oakland were already enthroned in their seats before the Kansas City A group ever set foot on the plane.
I managed to snag the last open aisle seat near the rear of the airplane, but when families with small children followed the A group on to the airplane the mayhem began. With 120 passengers (the through passengers and the A group) already on board, all that remained for those families with small children were a handful of middle seats.
The flight attendants tried desperately to entice several rows of passengers to move to middle seats to free up a few three-seat rows for those unfortunate parents and children who might otherwise be separated on our four-hour westbound journey.
As one who obsessively watches the clock to maximize my chance for an A priority boarding pass by checking-in exactly 24 hours before my scheduled departure time, I wasn't too crazy about trading my prized aisle seat for a middle seat and neither were most other passengers.
The woman sitting next to me felt sorry for those distressed parents and children and wanted to vacate our row to help accommodate a displaced family (bless her sweet and thoughtful heart) but her husband in the window seat nixed this magnanimous gesture. So, feeling guilty, I avoided eye contact with those still standing in the aisle.
The flight attendants begged, cajoled, and finally threatened to remain in Kansas City until two more rows relinquished their seats. Finally a half dozen good Samaritans acquiesced to middle seat misery and the flight crew finally shut the door and pushed back from the gate 20 minutes after our scheduled departure time.
Many passengers, including myself, wondered why Southwest had discarded an efficient boarding procedure in place for 36 years in favor of such a problematic new process. A remorseful pilot apologized after takeoff and again upon arrival in Oakland. He explained that the new boarding procedure worked just fine on most flights but not today when so many passengers remained on board during the intermediate stop in Kansas City.
The captain promised to report the bungled boarding debacle to the company management in hopes of altering the process to prevent similar miscues on future flights.
Southwest has a knack for doing things right, but I'm not certain eliminating pre-boarding for families will be seen as one of its more successful ideas. Through the years, I've marveled at how the bargain-priced, regional Sun-Belt, leisure airline transformed itself into a major national player now carrying millions of business travelers annually between large centers of commerce and industry like Chicago, Philadelphia and Los Angeles.
Although King claimed that Southwest was trying to improve the travel experience for all, these days it feels like the airline is more focused on capturing premium revenues from business travelers at the possible expense of the less lucrative leisure and family travel markets. In this post 9/11 world where competing airlines match Southwest's discount fares and oil prices are headed skyward, all airlines are seeking to maximize business traveler revenues to remain competitive.
Many people believe the new boarding procedures represent an interim step in moving to a boarding priority system based on the dollar value of your airline ticket, favoring business travelers who are more apt to buy more expensive, last-minute tickets. As a business traveler I think it's fair to reward those who pay higher prices. And I certainly don't want to be stuck in a middle seat or be surrounded by screaming babies or rambunctious children perpetually kicking the back of my seat on a cross-country flight.
That said, boarding families on an already crowded flight can slow the process, create contention between passengers and ultimately delay departure as it did on my Kansas City-Oakland flight.
Like all business travelers I want preferential treatment. But I was also raised in a world where women and children always came first and I feel selfish and guilty sitting in my aisle seat while families are struggling to locate seats together. Whether or not you like the new boarding policies, based on the events of my recent flight, I'm convinced that pre-boarding families is less disruptive – and quicker — for all Southwest fliers in the end.
Send David your feedback: David Grossman is a veteran business traveler and former airline industry executive. He writes a column every other week on topics of interest and concern to business travelers. E-mail him at travel@usatoday.com.