Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Southwest Airlines is making changes to long-standing policies on open seating, premium seats, and ...
[+] more. Newsday via Getty Images Southwest Airlines has announced significant policy changes to boost its profitability, with the biggest one being a switch from its long-standing open-seating policy to a reserved seat policy similar to those of the big three U.S.
airlines, United, American, and Delta Airlines. Southwest has been considering changes since at least last year, but pressure from an investor with a $2 billion stake in the firm apparently led to this announcement. That investor questioned the airline’s two free checked bags policy and suggested other potential revenue boosting moves.
Southwest’s Unique Customer Experience Southwest has never tried to copy the customer experience of its larger rivals. They stayed with their two free bag policy even as other airlines reaped billions of dollars in checked bag fees. Ditto for fees when a flyer changes flights.
Their planes don’t have extra legroom economy seats, much less spacious first class accommodations. The airline emphasizes direct connections between cities compared to the hub and spoke model used by other airlines. They have avoided “red-eye” overnight flights.
They even encourage their gate staff and flight attendants to keep passengers happy and amused by building humor into routine announcements. But, the biggest difference between Southwest .
