Southwest Airlines shifts from open seating to assigned seats, now boarding by groups, but faces new complications for passengers.
Dallas: Southwest Airlines is saying goodbye to its open seating policy after fifty years. The airline, based in Dallas, is now using assigned seating. Passengers will board in groups based on a new method called WILMA. Window seat holders will get on first, followed by middle seaters, and then aisle seaters. This method is meant to help passengers find their seats faster.
However, the new plan has its own problems. Southwest Airlines has also added more perks for frequent fliers. Those who pay for priority boarding will get on the plane first. Then, top-tier fliers and those who buy extra legroom will board. This creates more steps in the boarding process, which may slow things down.
Southwest believes these changes will help the company make more money. The airline’s president, Robert Jordan, stated that extra legroom seats could earn an extra $1.5 billion next year. But experts think these new perks make boarding slower overall. John Milne, a professor of engineering, says the extra perks are making airlines worse at loading people quickly.