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.

FMI: www.southwest.com