SW new boarding procedure official at all airports in Nov?

I had heard they were trying the letter %26amp; number combination, but according to this, they are implementing it everywhere in November. I went to southwest dot com and was unable to open the information their website. Sounds like a good idea, won%26#39;t have to sit in line or have someone save you a spot. I read a couple things about this on here, wondering if others would like to share their opinions or experiences going to/from LAS.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20872821/

SW new boarding procedure official at all airports in Nov?

';Starting in early November, customers of Southwest Airlines Co. will be assigned a letter-number combination on their boarding passes, which will reserve their spot in their boarding group. According to a Southwest statement, when a gate agent calls a boarding group, passengers will take their place in their numerical order.';

LOL - Why don%26#39;t try ';shortest to tallest'; or ';birthday order';? Or I suppose they could try actually assigning seats like the grown-up airlines. :)

SW new boarding procedure official at all airports in Nov?

This does seem a little like elementary school....and I have never really understood the point of SW boarding system. The other airlines I have flown with you just pick your seat based upon avail. what%26#39;s the problem with that?

But that said I have never had a problem with boarding with SW. I found about iboardA.com on this forum - I almost don%26#39;t want to spread info about this bc it works so well!!

IrishFan, as long as they don%26#39;t go alphabetically. My last name starts with a ';Z';. With this new system, they need to paint squares on the floors with the numbers on them. Then you can just go and stand on your number, instead of having to ask everyone around what number they are. I love SWA and have no problem with their current system. I feel like ';if it ain%26#39;t broke...'; I know not everyone agrees with me, and that%26#39;s okay.

Camille

That sounds like a fun logistics nightmare. Guess I%26#39;ll find out in November when we fly back to Vegas...

Oh, I like the idea of shortest to tallest. I was always the first in line in school, since I am only 5 FT. tall.

I am glad they are trying to improve the system. I hate the pushing and shoving and jockeying for a position. People act as though it were the line into heaven or something.

When I flew out a few weeks ago, I was one of the silly folks who got there at the crack of dawn, to get a good standing position.

Well, wouldn%26#39;t you know, they moved our gate at the last minute to another one down from where we were, so all of the people who were first in line ended up last in line. But, having said that, I had no problem getting the seat I wanted, aisle, close to the front. I think that the way they do the boarding makes it go faster and therefore quicker turn arounds.

Anyway, we will see how this new system works. Now we will all be trying to get on to the site at the same time, 24 hrs prior to leaving.

It will be like the new version of Bingo....';A6....who is A6?'; =)

More info direct from the horse%26#39;s mouth:

http://www.southwest.com/help/boardingschool/

Why not just assign the seats like everyone else?

This is great, and such a better solution than assigning seats. Glad that SWA%26#39;s experiment in assigned-seating was such a dismal failure.

IrishFan, I%26#39;ll explain why SWA%26#39;s ';cattle call'; is such a good idea, and why I never want them to join the ';grown-up airlines'; in moving to assigned seats. Since you%26#39;re evidently a Notre Dame fan, I%26#39;ll try not to use any big words.... ;)

SWA consistently has the best ontime record of the American carriers -- well over 80% ontime at nearly all the airlines they serve.

Why? Because unlike the other airlines, when you fly Southwest, there are consequences if you arrive late, if you dawdle and wait to board the plane until the last minute.

On Delta, United, Northwest, etc. your seat is reserved for you. So why should you be in a hurry to get on the plane? Better to dawdle in the gate area and board at the last minute, right? I would.

But on Southwest, if you do that, you%26#39;ll be stashed in a middle seat in between the two largest people on the plane, or next to a screaming baby, or in some other really undesirable seat.

To me, this is the reason that Southwest%26#39;s flights are nearly ALWAYS on time, and often arrive early. They%26#39;re able to get their passengers to line up at the gate BEFORE the plane even arrives. When the plane does arrive, the previous flight%26#39;s passengers disembark and the new passengers get on the plane as quickly as possible.

This is why SWA can have 20-25 minute ';turnaround times,'; something that no other carrier can match.

Do I love the ';cattle call';? No. But I sure love the results it gets, and I sent letters to SWA telling them ';if it ain%26#39;t broke, don%26#39;t fix it.';

This number system is a good compromise, I think. It prevents us all from having to stand in lines before the plane even gets there. Yet it maintains the encouragement for people to be at the gate and get their butts on the plane when their number is called.

I think this will take SLIGHTLY longer than the current A-B-C system. They won%26#39;t be requiring people to actually line up in order. How it will work is that they call passengers in groups -- first the A 1-5, then the A 6-10, etc., etc.

(Details are spelled out at www.blogsouthwest.com )

So calling all of these groups is likely to make the boarding process take a little longer than it does now. Still, I%26#39;m willing to bet that SWA will continue to have the fastest turnaround times and the best on-time records in the industry.

And for that, I%26#39;m thrilled.

It is much less expensive for an airline NOT to assign seats. I know it sounds easy, but it involves a whole new level of organization and administration for reservations..

There is a reason SWA has become one of the most profitable and highest rated (customer satisfaction) airlines. I think it is shortsighted to assume the they don%26#39;t have a reason for doing what they do.