There are 67 comments.

1. Inactive
   BDB

   @BDB

   6:09 PM EST ⋅ Jan 12, 2023

   The Cynthonian (View Comment):

   Skyler (View Comment):

   Phil Turmel (View Comment):

   David C. Broussard (View Comment):

   Hoyacon (View Comment):

   I used to fly Southwest because they went from DC to fabulous Greene Airport in the garden spot of Warwick, Rhode Island. The cattle calls that they felt were “innovative” when boarding have earned my enduring enmity.

   Oh, and has been suggested above, the main issue is that they appointed a bean counter CEO, as opposed to an operations guy.

   <Snipped for length>

   I flew Southwest only a couple times, and only because AirTran bought them. I, too, miss AirTran’s relatively affordable business class. (They kept Delta honest.) I despise SouthWest’s cattle car seating, and won’t fly with them just for that reason.

   The “cattle car” seating is brilliant. It gets people motivated to sit down and reduces loading time significantly. Jets don’t make money sitting still and I’m happy for anything that gets the plane moving.

   I dislike the “cattle car seating” and because of it, I only fly Southwest if its schedule is the best option and the price is right. I don’t perceive it as significantly reducing loading time. Maybe it reduces some labor cost by eliminating employee time spent shuffling seat assignments so parties can sit together, especially when flights are late or cancelled. I’ve never understood why the airlines don’t board the passengers from the windows in. I recall Delta experimenting with it some years ago, but apparently it didn’t prove out. Maybe because of parties with children and other passengers who need help with the boarding process?

   EDIT: Dang the mobile tyranny: See @philturmel‘s link below for a more trustworthy link to the same destination.

   EDIT EDIT: Yeah, just reload (F5, or SHIFT+CTRL+R) the page two or nine times, and this link will pop just like Phil’s.  Simplicity itself!

   WordPress is mentioned in Revelation.

2. Inactive
   Phil Turmel

   @PhilTurmel

   6:19 PM EST ⋅ Jan 12, 2023

   The Cynthonian (View Comment):

   Skyler (View Comment):

   Phil Turmel (View Comment):

   David C. Broussard (View Comment):

   Hoyacon (View Comment):

   I used to fly Southwest because they went from DC to fabulous Greene Airport in the garden spot of Warwick, Rhode Island. The cattle calls that they felt were “innovative” when boarding have earned my enduring enmity.

   Oh, and has been suggested above, the main issue is that they appointed a bean counter CEO, as opposed to an operations guy.

   <Snipped for length>

   I flew Southwest only a couple times, and only because AirTran bought them. I, too, miss AirTran’s relatively affordable business class. (They kept Delta honest.) I despise SouthWest’s cattle car seating, and won’t fly with them just for that reason.

   The “cattle car” seating is brilliant. It gets people motivated to sit down and reduces loading time significantly. Jets don’t make money sitting still and I’m happy for anything that gets the plane moving.

   I dislike the “cattle car seating” and because of it, I only fly Southwest if its schedule is the best option and the price is right. I don’t perceive it as significantly reducing loading time. Maybe it reduces some labor cost by eliminating employee time spent shuffling seat assignments so parties can sit together, especially when flights are late or cancelled. I’ve never understood why the airlines don’t board the passengers from the windows in. I recall Delta experimenting with it some years ago, but apparently it didn’t prove out. Maybe because of parties with children and other passengers who need help with the boarding process?

   Humorous explanation of the boarding algorithm options:

    

   {Edit.  BDB beat me to this one, but mine embedded and his did not.  Nyah! }

3. Member
   Full Size Tabby

   @FullSizeTabby

   6:32 PM EST ⋅ Jan 12, 2023

   The Cynthonian (View Comment):
   I dislike the “cattle car seating” and because of it, I only fly Southwest if its schedule is the best option and the price  is right.   I don’t perceive it as significantly reducing loading time.  Maybe it reduces some labor cost by eliminating employee time spent shuffling seat assignments so parties can sit together, especially when flights are late or cancelled.  I’ve never understood why the airlines don’t board the passengers from the windows in.  I recall Delta experimenting with it some years ago, but apparently it didn’t prove out.  Maybe because of parties with children and other passengers who need help with the boarding process?

   After experience with Southwest’s “cattle car seating” approach, and as the other airlines make it harder and more expensive for passengers to reserve seats together or to be sure of getting the seat they reserved, I see advantages to Southwest’s approach.

   My understanding is that passenger competition for overhead bin space keeps coming up as the problem with airlines’ efforts to load passengers either back of plane to front or windows to aisle. Frequent fliers (prime customers who also tend to choose seats toward the front of the plane and on the aisle) demand first dibs on overhead bin space and get really upset if there’s no overhead bin space by the time they board. 

4. Coolidge
   Skyler

   @Skyler

   Post author

   9:00 PM EST ⋅ Jan 12, 2023

   BDB (View Comment):

   The Cynthonian (View Comment):

   Skyler (View Comment):

   Phil Turmel (View Comment):

   David C. Broussard (View Comment):

   Hoyacon (View Comment):

   I used to fly Southwest because they went from DC to fabulous Greene Airport in the garden spot of Warwick, Rhode Island. The cattle calls that they felt were “innovative” when boarding have earned my enduring enmity.

   Oh, and has been suggested above, the main issue is that they appointed a bean counter CEO, as opposed to an operations guy.

   <Snipped for length>

   I flew Southwest only a couple times, and only because AirTran bought them. I, too, miss AirTran’s relatively affordable business class. (They kept Delta honest.) I despise SouthWest’s cattle car seating, and won’t fly with them just for that reason.

   The “cattle car” seating is brilliant. It gets people motivated to sit down and reduces loading time significantly. Jets don’t make money sitting still and I’m happy for anything that gets the plane moving.

   I dislike the “cattle car seating” and because of it, I only fly Southwest if its schedule is the best option and the price is right. I don’t perceive it as significantly reducing loading time. Maybe it reduces some labor cost by eliminating employee time spent shuffling seat assignments so parties can sit together, especially when flights are late or cancelled. I’ve never understood why the airlines don’t board the passengers from the windows in. I recall Delta experimenting with it some years ago, but apparently it didn’t prove out. Maybe because of parties with children and other passengers who need help with the boarding process?

   EDIT: Dang the mobile tyranny: See @ philturmel‘s link below for a more trustworthy link to the same destination.

   EDIT EDIT: Yeah, just reload (F5, or SHIFT+CTRL+R) the page two or nine times, and this link will pop just like Phil’s. Simplicity itself!

   WordPress is mentioned in Revelation.

   A much better idea is to seat everyone in a sled, wait for the plane to arrive.  Open the nose and tail of the plane and simultaneously slide the current occupants out on their sled and the new occupants in on their sled.  You need to design new planes though. 

5. Member
   RufusRJones

   @RufusRJones

   1:36 AM EST ⋅ Jan 13, 2023

   Red Herring (View Comment):

   Weird. Weren’t they the preferred choice when other US airlines went downhill?

   They are the only airline that doesn’t use a hub and spoke system, so there is demand for that. Point to point helps some people get places faster, cheaper.

6. Coolidge
   David C. Broussard

   @Dbroussa

   5:45 AM EST ⋅ Jan 13, 2023

   The Cynthonian (View Comment):

   Skyler (View Comment):

   Phil Turmel (View Comment):

   David C. Broussard (View Comment):

   Hoyacon (View Comment):

   I used to fly Southwest because they went from DC to fabulous Greene Airport in the garden spot of Warwick, Rhode Island. The cattle calls that they felt were “innovative” when boarding have earned my enduring enmity.

   Oh, and has been suggested above, the main issue is that they appointed a bean counter CEO, as opposed to an operations guy.

   <Snipped for length>

   I flew Southwest only a couple times, and only because AirTran bought them. I, too, miss AirTran’s relatively affordable business class. (They kept Delta honest.) I despise SouthWest’s cattle car seating, and won’t fly with them just for that reason.

   The “cattle car” seating is brilliant. It gets people motivated to sit down and reduces loading time significantly. Jets don’t make money sitting still and I’m happy for anything that gets the plane moving.

   I dislike the “cattle car seating” and because of it, I only fly Southwest if its schedule is the best option and the price is right. I don’t perceive it as significantly reducing loading time. Maybe it reduces some labor cost by eliminating employee time spent shuffling seat assignments so parties can sit together, especially when flights are late or cancelled. I’ve never understood why the airlines don’t board the passengers from the windows in. I recall Delta experimenting with it some years ago, but apparently it didn’t prove out. Maybe because of parties with children and other passengers who need help with the boarding process?

   Southwest turns their planes around faster than any other airline,  it’s part of how they compete. The absolute fastest way to board is to board from the back to the front. Airlines used to do that. The first people on were those holding seats in the back of the plane. This changed as airlines allowed for priority boarding for passengers with higher loyalty status. It screwed up the entire boarding model. Suddenly everyone was jockeying for overhead space in the front of the plane and the back was empty. Southwest just got rid of it with open seating. Loyal customers get boarded early and do tend to take front seats for easy deplaning, or exit rows for more room, but overall the process goes very smoothly. It sucks if you are a C group boarder as you will be in a middle seat, but honestly if you aren’t a frequent flyer on any other airline you get a middle seat unless you pay more, and sometimes not even then. One thing about Southwest that is different is that almost every flight is full or has less than 5 empty seats. 

7. Coolidge
   Red Herring

   @EHerring

   6:46 AM EST ⋅ Jan 13, 2023

   RufusRJones (View Comment):

   Red Herring (View Comment):

   Weird. Weren’t they the preferred choice when other US airlines went downhill?

   They are the only airline that doesn’t use a hub and spoke system, so there is demand for that. Point to point helps some people get places faster, cheaper.

   It seems I remember routes, direct flights, and cost were were mentioned. I flew on them once. I have only flown 5 times since I retired from the AF in 1999. 9/11 hit and each experience after that has been a nightmare. We drive even if it means an overnight. We have had to store small pocket knives in the USO, flown when 3 oz bottles were first required, been flagged for extra screening because their sensors detected something that wasn’t there, been the random pick for super screening in the Prepass line, the cattle car experience on Southwest, been harassed about the exact placement of masks on our faces, delayed luggage, damaged luggage, and generally treated like crap. Only good airline was Air New Zealand, but QANTAS gets an honorable mention.