That Sucks!!!!

Bravo!! I couldn't have said that better myself.  I love it when an attorney responds to me with "That Sucks"!!   I mean, no mincing words here.  *smile*  Thank you for saying it like it is and really telling me how you feel.  Love it, love it, love it!!  And you know why he said that?  Because I told him, that for a flight on November 1st, I was not able to pre-assign an aisle for him and here it is September 21st.  Thank goodness his wife is travelling with him and she prefers the window and he was ok with that.  I don't mind monitoring to see if I can improve seats, but thank you for being willing to set in the center seat next to your wife, because that's one less reservation I need to monitor daily to try and improve seating assignments.  Some folks don't even get a seating assignment this far in advance or are stuck in the last row, non-reclining center seat.

 

It's not just one airline either!!  They all suck!!  So what else is new.  They're all jumping on this same band wagon, blocking aisle seats out and making people pay just a little bit more to get those preferred seats!!  Sometimes you can get them outside of 24 hours, sometimes you have to wait and do it no sooner than 24 hours, sometimes if you are a "super duper" frequent flyer with that airline, you can get the preferred seats outside the 24 hour window unless other "super duper" frequent flyers already beat you to it. Some airlines let you buy a membership which is good for a year which allows you to pre-assign the premium seats, even though you might not be a "super duper" frequent flier.  The airlines keep getting richer all the time, finding new ways to extort money out of the traveller and companies, yet they're always crying poor house!!  I guess I wouldn't be complaining if I was married to one of these CEO's of the airlines, but I'm not.  They keep finding new and innovative ways to pad their pockets!!  And they sure hit the mark when they realized what people would do to get an aisle seat!!  Ka-chink, ka-chink, ka-chink!! 

 

Aside from that, but still relevant, another thing which really ticks me off is when you book an airline ticket online (for whatever reason) for a passenger and you don't get to hear the bad news about "airport check in only" for advanced seat selection until AFTER you've bought the nonrefundable ticket!!  Grrrrrrrrr, what a ripoff!!  That surely sucks!!  Geez, why don't they just do away with the frequent flyer miles program too.  That would surely start WWIII *rollin' my eyes* amongst our nations frequent traveller's.  The airlines have taken all of the other amenities away.  If a person really really wants to fly first class and be guaranteed a first class seat on an international flight, they can expect to pay $10,000.00 for a round trip.  So you can bet that the majority of folks who are seated in first class on international flights are all "super duper" frequent fliers on that airline, but chances are they either used miles to upgrade or during the online check in process, they were offered a super deal to upgrade from a 2000.00 round trip ticket for an extra 1000.00.  Sure beats 10K for a guaranteed first class seat!!  I can't even begin to keep up with these airlines. Their game rules change daily and none of them are exactly the same.  Even Air Tran is charging for certain aisle seats.  15.00 here and 15.00 there. 

Southwest Seats?? Not yet......

I am slightly disappointed that Southwest decided not to put a pre-assigned seating feature into place, however I also believe that what they've proposed will certainly be a huge improvement. Basically, Southwest had been contemplating going to the advanced seating program, but they decided against it. Your best and only chance of getting a decent seat on Southwest is to check in online, no more than 24 hours prior to the flight departure time and get an *A* card. Southwest has now fine tuned that program and the alpha character will now be assigned a number after that so that you will no longer see lines forming or people camped out at the *A*, *B*, or *C* podiums at Southwest to be first in line to board from that row. From a travel agent's standpoint, who really appreciates everything about Southwest, I'm seriously hoping they do lose that "cattle car" title and I think this is a very good move on their part. I'm just an ole country gal who has spent 20 years in the city, so I can hang with the best of them, but I do have to say that I love Southwest!! There are so many good points about them and certainly an easy sell. The big thing is no penalties, just difference in airfare if you change and you can transfer your unused ticket funds to other passengers if you wish. They make my life as a travel agent so much easier from a monetary standpoint. OK, so now you know I like Southwest and the way they function, but read on if you want more details about their most recent seating game plan.

Here is what their newswire said:

Southwest Streamlines Its Boarding Without Assigning Seats

DALLAS, Sept. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Our Customers have spoken! Southwest Airlines embraces and celebrates its unique open seating heritage, announcing today that Customers will continue to choose their favorite seat while onboard the aircraft. The airline does plan to make changes to its boarding; however, saying goodbye to the perceived "cattle call" and eliminating the need for Customers to "camp-out" in their boarding line at the gate. The boarding transformation will enhance Customers' Southwest
experience, while maintaining the carrier's core values and Maverick character.

"Our open seating has served us exceptionally well throughout our 36-year history, and, after much research, deliberation, careful evaluation, and significant feedback from our Employees and Customers, we've decided that it is here to stay," said Gary Kelly, Southwest Airlines' Chief Executive Officer. "When we began our extensive exploration into the way our Customers board the aircraft, we set out to accomplish two things: improve the Customer Experience and increase Customer productivity. The new boarding delivers on both accounts and complements our legendary open seating."

Beginning in early November, Customers will be assigned a letter and a number on their Southwest boarding pass when they check in for a flight (for example: A32). This unique combination represents the Customers' reserved spot in their boarding group-boarding positions are separated into groups of five. When a Customer's boarding group is called, they simply find their designated place in line to board the aircraft. The A group will queue first in two lines: A1-30 on one side of marked columns and A31-60 on the other side, followed by two groups of B, and then the remaining Cs.

"After testing assigned seats in San Diego last summer, we quickly learned that the majority of our Customers did not want us to abandon our open seating but they did challenge us to enhance the way we board our aircraft." Kelly said. "Through innovative thinking and a lot of long hours, I am confident that our Employees have successfully built a solution that answers our Customers' direct request, while protecting and even improving our aircraft efficiency. All the while, I am proud to say, preserving our out of the box thinking that makes us different."

The airline began experimenting with several boarding processes last year at San Diego International Airport. Based on encouraging results, a new boarding option emerged using frontline Southwest Employees and Customer feedback. Next, Southwest began
constructing technology for a 2007 implementation in response to the initial San Diego results. In August 2007, the airline performed a "dress rehearsal" at San Antonio International Airport to confirm the carrier's preliminary findings and fine tune the process.

"Feedback from our San Antonio Customers and Employees has been overwhelmingly positive," Kelly said. "One of our primary goals with the new boarding is to give Customers back what they value most -- time. All of our research proves that this new way to board does just that."

The carrier plans to introduce the new boarding at every airport it serves by early November 2007. Over time, Southwest also plans to modify its gates with columns and signage that reflects the new boarding groups.

Southwest Airlines announced a plan to enhance its product in late June 2007. Today's announcement is the first step in a laundry list of items the carrier will introduce over the next several months. The new style of boarding opens the door to future enhancements for the carrier, allowing for product customization and additional incentives for the business and leisure traveler.

Southwest Airlines is one of the most honored airlines in the world. Among Southwest's recent honors was being named to Business Week's first ever list of "Customer Service Champs," which ranks the best providers of Customer Service. For eight years in a row, Southwest Airlines was named to Business Ethics magazine's list as one of America's "100 Best Corporate Citizens" for excelling at serving a variety of stakeholders and for leadership roles in corporate citizenship. And, for an impressive 11 consecutive years, FORTUNE magazine recognized Southwest Airlines as one of America's Top Ten most
admired corporations.