Good For Biz Travelers, Mayhem For Families
Southwest Airlines' recent decision to eliminate pre-boarding
for families with small children has alienated many loyal
customers, while many others applaud the move, according to USA
Today.
Since early October, families with small children are no longer
allowed to pre-board the aircraft before other customers. Now
families must board along with the A group, or after that group if
they are unable to secure an A priority boarding pass at
check-in.
For those families now sandwiched between the A and B groups,
this new "A-and-a-half" boarding status means 60 regular passengers
may board the flight ahead of families with small children.
This change precedes Southwest's forthcoming numbered boarding
system scheduled to commence November 8, where all passengers will
receive a boarding priority number within their respective A, B, or
C group. The numbered boarding priority will eliminate the need for
all customers to stand in line but will not improve the boarding
status for families with small children.
According to Southwest, the new boarding procedures are aimed at
streamlining the boarding process and allowing passengers to shop
or grab a meal instead of queuing up at the gate an hour before the
flight.
But the elimination of pre-boarding for families actually
increased the boarding time and precipitated a tense and chaotic
situation on a recent Southwest flight from Kansas City to
Oakland.
When families with small children followed the A group on to the
airplane, the mayhem began. With 120 passengers (the through
passengers and the A group) already on board, all that remained for
those families with small children were a handful of middle
seats.
The flight attendants tried desperately to entice several rows
of passengers to move to middle seats to free up a few three-seat
rows for those unfortunate parents and children who might otherwise
be separated on our four-hour westbound journey. The flight
attendants begged, cajoled, and finally threatened to remain in
Kansas City until two more rows relinquished their seats.
Finally, a half dozen good Samaritans acquiesced to middle seat
misery, and the flight crew finally shut the door and pushed back
from the gate 20 minutes after the scheduled departure time.
USA Today says the airline is more focused on capturing premium
revenues from business travelers at the possible expense of the
less lucrative leisure and family travel markets. In a post-9/11
world -- where competing airlines match Southwest's discount fares
and oil prices are headed skyward -- all airlines are seeking to
maximize business traveler revenues to remain competitive.
Many people believe the new boarding procedures represent an
interim step in moving to a boarding priority system based on the
dollar value of a passenger's airline ticket -- favoring business
travelers who are more apt to buy more expensive, last minute
tickets.