Southwest was a news machine last week. After posting a bad quarter with an even worse outlook, it announced redeyes and most importantly, the introduction of assigned seating along with an extra legroom section. This is all good — well, except for the current results and outlook — but we still don’t know much about how this is going to be implemented. Let’s talk about that.
What we know so far is that Southwest will introduce assigned seating, but we don’t know how seats will be assigned. It will also create an extra legroom section that will make up a third of the seats onboard, roughly. Further, we know that Southwest still likes its boarding process even with assigned seating. We also know this isn’t happening tomorrow. It takes time to put all the pieces together, and it’s such a big task that the former Chief Commercial Officer is now focused on the changes exclusively.
There are presumably many decisions that are still to be made, but I’m happy to guess on some things here. First, the boarding process. CEO Bob Jordan said this on the earnings call:
We’re also designing a boarding process that retains the organized calm our customers enjoy today, but also complements an assigned seating model.
It is true that there is nothing better than orderly boarding that avoids gate lice stepping all over each other to jockey for position. If a third of the plane will be extra legroom, I can see a world where the A group becomes extra legroom section followed by two groups of regular seating. The boading poles are already there in every airport, so they might as well use them. It also gives an opportunity to retain some sort of early boarding product. I don’t know why people would pay for it if seats are assigned, but some people are nutty. Might as well take their money.
When it comes to money, it remains to be seen exactly how Southwest will charge for this. Will it charge for regular seat assignments, letting everyone who doesn’t pay get them at check-in just like an ultra low-cost carrier? Will it have a basic economy-style bundle that doesn’t include a seat assignment while everything else does? Will it have the garbage “preferred” seating section which is no different than everywhere else but usually sits further forward? I tend to think most of those are unlikely.
Southwest is an airline that tries to stay true to its customer service orientation. I would be surprised if we saw Southwest taking things away from people. More likely is that regular seat assignments would be included, but if people want to sit in the extra legroom section, they’d obviously have to pay for that separately or buy a higher fare bundle. Presumably A-Listers would get it for free, helping to improve the value of the loyalty program.
And what about that legroom? How will it be configured? I geeked out a little too much on this. I know that they will be outfitting the whole fleet, but I ignored the 737-700s and -7 MAX aircraft since those are harder to figure out and will probably require losing a row anyway. Instead, let’s take a look at the current configuration of the 737-800 and -8 MAX.
![](https://i0.wp.com/crankyflier.com/wp-content/uploads/2024_07_28-wn738seatmaptoday.jpg?resize=1000%2C563&ssl=1)
There are 175 seats with a minimum of 32 inches of seat pitch (the distance from one point on a seat to the same point on the seat in the row ahead). That is pretty generous considering American has a full first class cabin and extra legroom section and still fits 172 seats on the same airplane.
The ones I’ve market in blue are the ones I believe have extra legroom. The exit rows I know are right, but I’m not completely sure about the bulkhead.
Because Southwest has a generous 32 inches of pitch, it can afford to give up an inch. That’s probably even more likely true since it is installing new seats on the airplane that will presumably provide better legroom than the seats that are on the airplane today.
I’m assuming that Southwest goes down to 31 inches and then comes up to 34 inches for extra legroom. Below you’ll see one possible scenario for how this could work.
![](https://i0.wp.com/crankyflier.com/wp-content/uploads/2024_07_28-wn738seatmappossibles.png?resize=1200%2C675&ssl=1)
If Southwest takes out one inch of pitch on eight rows in front of the exits, then it can make four rows with 34 inches. I got a little murky with the bulkhead since I’m still not completely sure what has extra legroom and what doesn’t there.
To get this many extra legroom seats, however, it does have to put some behind the wing. Back there, if they take 1 inch from 10 rows and then have 2 inches from 1 row in the way back, that’s enough to create six more rows with 34 inches.
We don’t even know if it will be 34 inches, but the point is, Southwest can keep the same number of seats onboard and create a lot of extra legroom seating that it can sell. At the same time, it can continue giving above average legroom to everyone else onboard. (Well, maybe except that last row which would be just average….)
This has the ability to generate a lot of revenue using the same number of seats, which is exactly the point.
It sounds like we’ll learn a lot more in September when the airline has its investor day, but despite Elliott’s best efforts to shame the airline, I would assume this management team will do things in a more customer-friendly way that will help bolster the company’s reputation instead of harm it.
58 comments on “How Southwest’s Extra Legroom and Assigned Seating Might Work”
Sounds like Southwest is FINALLY learning how to be a budget-focussed airline / LCC in the 2020s and leaving the 1980s. They have a lot more to learn from the budget airline / LCC with the largest market cap in the world though. Unbundling needs to go further. “No bag fees” should eventually be dropped, even for the first checked bag – some people will scream in the press, but pax will pay and profits will rise significantly.
Most airline credit cards give you a free checked bag. SWA would deepen its relationship with Chase as a result of charging for bags and create a more robust ancillary revenue stream.
Hey, if you want to donate money for checked bags feel free. Some of us like the perk
Yup. Treat customers as badly as other airlines is guaranteed to enhance your revenue, and make you unique in a marketplace of bad service. American airlines generally stink, with Southwest slightly less stinky. New business slogan, “We stink just like all the rest!” Hurrah!!!
Cranky check the label on your second graphic between blue and red. Assuming Blue is extra legroom since it is exit rows but appears to be labeled backwards.
I saw the same problem.
Yup! Exactly!
Oh yeah, whoops, fixed
I know the article here attempted to frame Southwest as customer friendly, but when renderings were released with the new slim looking seats the airline got an absolute wrecking. Surprisingly it even became a popular subject on TikTok.
As misleading as seat pitch is, the news of legroom being cut will not go down well.
Personally I don’t mind slimmer seats. If i am only going to get so much space, I’d rather it be space that i can stretch my legs with, instead of space that goes behind my back. I suppose the exception to that is if the person behind you keeps bumping into or kicking your seat, but that feels more like a passenger courtesy issue.
How long until 31″ of legroom becomes 28″? Gott a pack them in for profitability… right? And I’m not necessarily speaking about WN here.
To be fair, the other large carriers in the US (United, Delta, American) have seat pitch in the 30-31″ range for basic economy (at least based on SeatGuru’s short-haul economy class comparison; not sure when it was last updated). Even going down the list to the next larger airlines, Alaska, Allegiant, Hawaiian and JetBlue are in that range as well. Among the top 12ish pax airlines in the US, it’s really only Spirit, Sun Country, and Frontier that are listed with short-haul economy seats <30" of pitch. Internationally, even Ryanair is listed at 30" and up.
Hot take: I personally don't see non-ULCCs dropping seat pitch below 30". Seat pitch is a very imperfect measure of comfort/space (to me personally, hip & shoulder space is almost equally important), but a row of seats with 28" seat pitch is MUCH more cramped & uncomfortable for many pax than one with 30" or 31". That difference is one travelers can really feel, even if they don't know the exact number, and enough to drive many business travelers away unless they have no other option.
“…I don’t know why people would pay for it if seats are assigned, but some people are nutty.”
Because they’ll want overhead space near their seat.
Exactly. With assigned seating fewer people will see a need to pay for early boarding. But those worried about overhead bin space will still pay for it.
“Organized calm” is now how I would describe the Southwest boarding process.
Cranky,
Is there a possibility of WN bringing in a second type of plane scubas the A220? If the 737 MAX ran into problems (again) they would be up s*%*s creek.
Such as not scuba. Damn spellcheck
Bringing in a second aircraft type would wreck the benefit of a single aircraft type that they enjoy now. If they did that they would start to look even more like one of the other majors (AA/DL/UA)
But the other majors seem to be doing okay with multiple aircraft types. Even “proudly all Boeing” AS isn’t flying 737s into smaller markets.
I think a single aircraft type is useful to some extend, but not really the best approach once your airline reaches a certain size.
Operating more than one aircraft type is a huge driver of costs. There is a vast amount of non-productive flight crew time every time someone moves to a different aircraft type which may be promotional or shift bidding, not to mention the additional aircraft parts inventory and mechanic training.
Plus training for all aircraft touching employees, union pushback (which all just got new contracts), etc. I actually see this assigned seating failing them as they have to spend more refitting the planes for this config (which will take the planes out for a week to 2 weeks) and they’re already taking a loss as it is. Tread very lightly
But it works for the other large airlines….
Yes, it comes with costs. But also opens up new opportunities.
Angry Bob – There’s always been a chance of that, but time and time again the airline has decided not to bother. I think at this point, it would take too long to get any other aircraft (except maybe an Embraer) to make it worth bothering. That’s a decision that should have been made long ago if they wanted to make it.
“More likely is that regular seat assignments would be included, but if people want to sit in the extra legroom section, they’d obviously have to pay for that separately or buy a higher fare bundle.” I also think this is how they are going to do it. I’ve been reading in some other forums and a lot of people think they are going to charge just for having a seat assignment. I just don’t see that. I also hope they keep at least one free checked bag going into the future. I travel with kids and not having the hassle to pay for a checked bag or add carry-ons with kids would be nice. Plus, I think it sets WN apart from everyone else.
All the sources are saying WN Will charge higher for the LUV seats and Exit Row each in separate categories . And the Economy seats will not have the Upsell if you want a window or isle since WN doesn’t want to push families away from flying WN . But there gonna need to buy WGA+ to get seats together. Because that guarantee will not come with the WAG price point.
There a lot of talk that WN going to eliminate 6 seats/ one row give every aircraft 36 extra legroom seats catering towards the Business Select passengers they have lost recently.
The Exit rows seats will be available for seat selection geared towards the Loyal A list preferred customers separate from the new LUV seating.
Then the remaining economy will remain the same without diluting the normal industry economy seats pitch the Wanna get plus passenger enjoy today.
This will bring the 700 back down to 137 seats and reduce the NG8/Max8 to 169 seats.
WN plan to keep 36 seats standard will help
WN protect its prime customers should they need to downgrade the aircraft in an unscheduled Swap no LUV seating customer will be bumped down to normal economy.
WN also HAS TOO MANY seats in the market so this will help them reduce the inventory within their own markets and simultaneously increase the price point since it will limit the available seats. Less dirt cheap seats dragging down revenue.
Lastly WN has a HUGE over weight problem on its ETOPS flight out of LAS and PHX requiring Flag stops for fuel at LAX almost daily during the summer months. 6 less seats reduced the weight problem on the MAX8. The NG800 has even greater over weight problems at MDW,DEN,PHX,LAS and BUR during the summer months also so again reducing 6 seats of weight helps WN combat this ongoing issue.
Now when it comes to seat selection Business select will be limited to the 36 LUV seats.
While A list customers/ Anytime fares will get first choice at the highly sought after Exit row seats. This gives those passengers the perks of extra space seats without taking away prime LUV seats from the highest fare bucket. When those LUV seats aren’t booked they will most likely offered to A list preferred customers as a reward upgrade based on status and availability on the day of departure.
The remaining seat selection at time of booking will go to Wanna Get away PLUS passengers.
The Remaining seats not bought by WGA+ will be sold and seats assigned the Day of departure when the passengers checkin at the airport. Rumors have it these passengers will still be given 2 free checked bags but reduced to just One small personal item. This reduces the end boarding gate checked baggage and allows WN to assign these seats throughout the aircraft to fix its weight and balance issues on lightly booked flights. It also give them the flexibility to move people around last minute to accommodate specific needs ahead of time to avoid delays at the gate at push time.
While Many will miss the Open seating at WN the “Fake pre Boarding problem” and Seat Saving with paying for Business select or Early Bird finally reached its breaking point and WN had to make the change.
Runway30 – There’s no way. The airline said itself that a third of its seats would be extra legroom, so it’s going to be much more than that.
Well i stand corrected. Also your assessment of how the layout gonna look has seemed hit the nail
On the head and cause frustration from top brass at WN . “Who Leaked This to the Cranky flyer.” This morning seems like the Business select as we know it is being canned and merged with the Alist rewards flyers to not dilute them from being a loyal longtime Customers. Sounds like A boarding group will be LUV seating 61 seats total. And 114 Wanna get away +/ Wanna get away seats. Sounds like the difference between the two products will be:
WGA+ you can self assign your seat at time of purchase plus your gonna still be allowed 2 free checked bags plus one carry on and one small personal item, plus your allowed to go on any flight on the Same day stand program.
WAG you get 2 FREE checked and just one Small personal item, Seats will be assigned the day of departure up to one Hour before when you check your luggage at the airport. No same day stand by flexibly.
One Hour prior to departure at the ticket counter check in will be cut off and seats will be released to Standbys and upgrades at the Gate.
Baggage check will be 1:30 minutes before departure on international flight’s.
Also sounds like WN will be bringing back a plethora of Thru flight itineraries they recently eliminated to help curb seat switching and reduce turn times.
To keep the gate area organised and not full of gate lice. The boarding process will be sorted something like this:
WN will still use the pillars to line people up for boarding.
Dead Heading crew or jumper seaters
Preboarding.
Active military personnel
Group A zone 1. Exit row & Aft LUV seating.
Group A Zone 2 forward LUV seating.
Group B WGA+ Zone 1 Aft seats
Group B WGA+Zone 2 forward seating.
With the elimination of having a One plus one carryon allowance WN will finally be able to police their policies and Board the remaining WGA passengers.
Group C WGA Zone 1 aft seating.
Group C WGA Zone 2 foward seating.
Followed by last minute standbys if any are available.
Now we just need to see your assessment on how the seating gonna look on the 700 and MAX7 . Will they keep it at 61 seats on every aircraft so the Higher passengers aren’t forced down a section during an unplanned Aircraft down grade aka swap.
See ya at cranky fest !
Exit rows aren’t that valuable IMO, especially for long haul flights. The inability to recline the seat, plus the inability to keep a personal bag with you, make exit rows a pretty difficult sell for many people. I surely hope that’s not the default offering for A Listers.
My guess is A listers and business select get early access to select seats, and everybody else gets seat selection once check-in opens up. This doesn’t really solve the issue of letting families sit together tho, not guaranteed at least.
> WN also HAS TOO MANY seats in the market so this will help them reduce the inventory within their own markets and simultaneously increase the price point since it will limit the available seats. Less dirt cheap seats dragging down revenue.
Reducing seats on the same plane doesn’t help with inventory issues, does it? I mean, if you want to sell fewer seats, you can always just not sell six seats on a given flight. But having fewer seats on a plane doesn’t save much of anything in cost (except for the weight of the seats you remove).
If you have too many seats in a market and want to drive up profit in the market, you need to have fewer flights or actually smaller planes to reduce your costs while driving revenue per seat up.
Comments about a potentially slower fleet growth are far more interesting esp. when combined with what JetBlue just announced.
Low cost carriers are having to figure out how to be low-growth and still low cost, something no other low cost carrier has managed to do.
and Southwest will have to operate two fleet types at some point in the transition even if they operate a single fleet.
It is not out of the realm of possibility that WN has convinced Airbus to build a whole lot more A220s including a stretch.
Boeing latest estimates the Anti Ice fix will be approved and both the MAX7 and MAX10 should clear
All remaining certifications for both aircraft to begin delivers in the first quarter of 2025. For WN if the estimated time frame holds true WN will use the 37 already built ETOPS MAX7 to replace the ETOPS MAX8 in the Hawaii markets by June or Aug 2025. 7 of those aircraft will be used to connect DEN its biggest Hub to the Hawaiian Islands. But they will also accelerate some of the Oldest 700 due for heavy maintenance checks into retirement given the a smaller manageable Growth and this overpass situation the industry is gone through now. And once the MAX7 get certified WN will redo its entire order book and mostly likely eliminate anymore planned MAX8 deliveries until after 2030.
Given that WN’s MO has been “always be at the bottom of Boeing’s order book and in return get a sweet deal on airframes”, and given that Airbus can’t make enough 220s, particularly with the P&W GTF issues affecting *those* aircraft, I wouldn’t expect WN to move away from being 737-only this decade. This will limit expansion opportunities, but the capacity discipline is probably just as well in the current environment.
> It is not out of the realm of possibility that WN has convinced Airbus to build a whole lot more A220s including a stretch.
Or just buy Breeze, if regulators will let you.
To that end, if the A220s really are that coveted, someone may try to buy Breeze “just for the planes”, especially if Breeze falters and looks to be available fairly cheaply.
Another jetline (sorry, “airline”) with Blue colors tried to do something similar recently, after all. :-)
I’d rather fly on a A220 than a 1960’s Frankensteined Boeing-built plane.
I’m a huge fan of smaller planes with 2-2 or 2-3 economy layouts (really miss the Mad Dogs and Dash-8s) and have been trying to fly on an A220 for the past few years. Unfortunately, I have never been able to find a flight on it that meets my needs, and I’m not going to pay an extra $100+ just to try a new airliner (or airline, as I’d also like to fly Breeze).
I’m a window seat person, and while I can tolerate the 737s, the curvature of the fuselage in them seems worse than many other planes in terms of how it affect the space for pax in window seats.
I had DL’s A220s in June for an ORD-LGA roundtrip – a 300 eastbound and 100 westbound.
And I loved them.
Reminiscent of DC-9s, with 2-3 seating but with a wider cabin. That leads to wider seats (18.5″-19.0″ depending on which online source you check, vs 17″ on a 737 and 17.5″ on MD-80s). The 300 is roughly the same length and capacity as the DC-9-50, and the 100 roughly the same as the DC-9-30. And a helluva lot quieter.
I’m an aisle-sitter, but my perception is that the windows are both larger and higher in the fuselage than in a 737, making them more useful for looking out.
I can’t WAIT to see how many people attempt to get preboard access once assigned seating is in place!
So open seating would work if it’s only for premium seating with the pre board issue..
12 premium seats for upgrade purchase and they are assigned if you upgrade or buy business select. The rest is open seating. Making pre borders 7+ rows back still.
I have flown SWA for 22 years, business and pleasure, frequently 3-4 times weekly. I have NEVER had any issues with seating, 99% always able to pick the seat i WANTED. Their open seating was a huge reason I always flew with them. Bring back Herb, he knew how to design and run an airline, giving the customers what they desired along with great value, and happy, enthused and motivated employees. Even from the grave, he could operate SWA far better than the woke, weak willed bozos who are currently destroying it by listening to the typical shrill minority. Once open seating is implemented, SWA will cease being my automatic designated airline of choice. Very sad how a once great innovative and maverick airline is being destroyed from within due to incompetent, short sighted officers and board members.
lol. Southwest’s own research shows that most of its passengers don’t like the open boarding system.
Southwest can’t go back to the 1980s, it has to fly in 2024. Things that don’t change die.
remember flying back when you had a comfortable seat, a free checked bag, and even a meal on long flights? Those days are over as investors want blood from a stone. If it weren’t for FAA rules, next they’d charge you extra to use the slide closest to you seat in the even of an emergency, extra to use the O2 if the cabin was depressurized, and a fee to use the bathroom.
Amen. True, so true. Has anyone seen the “survey” that SWA management claims they did? Except your mentioned the woke part. Not sure what that means here.
I’ll bet things get real fun when flying out of Denver now…seems the last 3 times I’ve been through there they’ve been concerned about load balancing the passengers (so many in front….so many in mid….and so many in back. But oh well…. I’m sure reason will prevail in those situations
Going to assigned seating may not be a deal breaker but starting to charge for first or second checked bag or large carry on sure will. Then I will have no reason to choose Southwest over other airlines as Southwest would have lost its attributes that set it apart from all the other airlines in North America.
I’m curious to see how they handle this. Talking to family, most of them seem to think that open seating is a big differentiator. Not the free checked bags, not the lack of change fees,, not the diverse route networks from secondary cities, but the open seating. They’re largely unaware of the preboarding problem and don’t understand that SWA is not always the cheapest in the market.
Frankly, I think this will be a change that will immensely improve SWA. Having an extra legroom section will also be a significant benefit.
They ought to remain wise about bag and change fees, though. People will cry shrilly if they can’t check bags for free. I could see them going down to 1 bag, but that’s as far as SWA should go. After that SWA is no different than any other carrier.
Keep it simple do like the others don’t try to be different
“ability to generate a lot of revenue using the same number of seats” Do you think people are going to pay a substantial premium to go from 31 to 33 inches (essentially getting 1 more inch of legroom verse the current layout) ? JetBlue gives you up to 38 inches of legroom in their Even More Space seats. AA has 33 inches of legroom on their main cabin extra seats on the Max 8, but how many of those seats are sold verse people with any status taking them for free? If Southwest blocked the middle seat like Frontier is doing with its first two rows, I can see that generating interest in a significant upsell.
Brian – The way I have it, and there’s no way to know for sure if this is the plan, it would be 34 inches vs 31 inches. And yes I think people will pay for that. I also think that it will help to make A Listers much happier with free upgrades, assuming that’s how it works. So there is value even if not a single person paid for extra legroom.
remember flying back when you had a comfortable seat, a free checked bag, and even a meal on long flights? Those days are over as investors want blood from a stone. If it weren’t for FAA rules, next they’d charge you extra to use the slide closest to you seat in the even of an emergency, extra to use the O2 if the cabin was depressurized, and a fee to use the bathroom
WN is making a mistake. They will become just another airline and perhaps in the long run not survive as their FF program is not up there like the big three. Southwest has kept things simple and they have done well doing it that way. They need operational people running the company not the finance guys. The most successful fast food restaurant is In & Out. Why because they keep it simple. Southwest, you start down this road and it will not work
Well this sucks I only fly with them cause bags are free and no assigned seating. Ig I can look at other prices now and go with the better deal. I always fly southwest but ig that’s going to change now.
Help me with this: how will they earn more with the premium seating if they are giving it all away to reward members?
I’m dreading having less space when booking last minute flights, and I certainly don’t want to pay more now to be comfortable.
The bottom line is most A-listers will be stuck in smaller seats. :(
As Southwest allows free bags to check, I propose to create more space they airline reallocate the overhead bin area into ‘sleeper berths’ for those who aren’t claustrophobic. This will gain room to offset the lost rows if they are indeed eliminated for longer pitch for some.
The chaos of carryons would be eliminated. I have every confidence that the larger legroom seating will come as the expense of those who won’t pay the tariff for that benefit, so even a shorter person can have knees planted in the seat back of the row forward then . We’ll continue to favor SW as I believe they pay the highest pilot salaries for this sort of airplane and safety is surely paramount over seating pettiness. Also, being able to change without annoying penalties, and the free checked bag. All the staff I have dealt with over a long time have been super friendly.
The “LUV seating” Adjustments.
737-700
Planned for 71 total Extra Leg room seats including exit row seats.
Row one moves up 2 1/2 inches and row 9 moves back 1 inch.
Still giving the minimum Over Wing Emergency Exit row door clearance.
33 1/2 seat pitch between rows 1-9
No adjustment to the after seating area 72 seats will remain at 31 inches seat pitch.
737-800/MAX8
Planning for 97 total Extra Leg room seats including exit row seats.
Row 1 aircraft right moves up 3 inches.
Row 2 aircraft left moves up 3 inches .
Row 13 moves back 1 1/2 inches.
Still giving the minimum forward Over Wing Emergency Exit Row clearance.
34 1/2 inches of seat pitch for Rows 1-13.
No adjustment to the After seating area 84 seats will remain at 32-33 inches of seat pitch.
I saw this on a Southwest Airlines and friends FB page. Brett your the Guru think this would work? Sounds plausible without reducing the Current regular economy spacing? The only row taking a true impact is the front row. Another part of the conversation sounds like Rapid rewards members will be able to list for seating upgrades that will be awarded 24 hrs before departure? Don’t know about that one.
Runway30 – This doesn’t make sense to me. On the 737-700, you add only 3.5 inches of room by moving rows 1 and 9. But the -700s have 31 inches of pitch now, so this won’t even get you two rows of extra legroom seating.
The math doesn’t work. They need to lose a row on that airplane.
On the -800/-8, you only gain 4.5 inches here by moving the bulkhead and row 13. That gets you almost 2 rows again. Math doesn’t work.
That’s why I asked you. Thanks for the quick reply. I’ve seen several different proposed Layouts similar to what you shared. Here’s the most recent and most heavily circulating version that has apparently come from a Rapid Rewards passenger survey. It shows 3 different classes of seats . The 34 inches of seat pitch for the Even more leg rows 1-5 up front on all aircraft and Mid cabin extra leg room rows 12-17 on the NG7 and rows 14-20 on the NG8/MAX8 with 3 inches of seat reclining ability except row 5,17 and 20 only 2 inches of seat recline ability. .Upfront standard Economy will be rows 6-13 on the NG8/MAX8 and rows 6-10 on the NG7 with 30 inches of seat pitch with just 1 inch of reclining ability. Regular economy on the NG7 will be rows 18-24 and rows 21-30 on the NG8/MAX8. All these seats will be reduced to just 29 inches of seat pitch and Zero reclining ability. Row 30 on the NG8/MAX8 and Row 24 on the NG7 will only have 28 inches of seat pitch and these 6 seats will only be assigned day of departure and on full flights only. WN will be saving These seats for UMs ,Non Revenue and WAG same day standbys and crew members use on flights that aren’t fully booked.
On the same survey it’s seem to confirm the speculation that the cheapest WAG fares will only come with ONE free checked bag and One small personal carry on Item. Seats will be assigned when you check in at the airport on the day of departure. This should help speed up the end of boarding process with few people needing to check bags in the Jetway for Boarding group C .
And it will also help WN shave off 5 minutes from every aircraft turn time that’s not a ETOPS or International flight.
I wonder if you would tackle the Pros and Cons of the Elliot Potential Board members they have proposed. Simple Wikipedia search on the 10 potential board members Elliot’s picks seem Very Anti Union Labor. WN one of the most Unionised airlines in the world. Your thoughts?
Jaison – I wouldn’t put any stock in a survey. The whole point of surveys is to test various options and their attractiveness. It’s not going to reflect what actually happens. This will help shape the final project.
On the Elliott board, it’s a lot of people who haven’t been in the industry for a long time. I was scratching my head on that one.