The Traveling Universe Remains More Or Less Intact

The "cattle call" stays. That's the word from Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly, who announced Wednesday the low-cost carrier's experiment with assigned seating did not convince the airline to immediately forgo the first-come, first-served boarding process in existence since the airline began service in 1971.

"The only thing that we are announcing today is that we are not assigning seats," Kelly told reporters at a news conference, according to Reuters.

That doesn't mean the airline won't take steps to speed the process further, however. While the airline won't assign seats, starting in November it will assign places in line. Passengers will continue to board by groups A, B, and C... but they'll now have to line up in numerical order.

At first blush, that sounds a bit more complicated than the current system, with negligible apparent benefits. Southwest says the new system cuts down the amount of time passengers will have to wait in line to board, though... an important consideration for all travelers, in particular business flyers.

The airline says customers currently line up at the departure gate 30 minutes before a flight to insure a good seat (only 30 minutes? Have they seen "rush hour" at DAL? -- Ed.) The new system should give passengers' feet a rest, at least.

Kelly notes the new system generates no additional revenue, which is contrary to the airline's stated goal in experimenting with assigned seating in the first place. What the new system does allow for, however, is a way to further streamline the process down the road... including ultimately charging for specific seats.

"We fully admit that this opens the door to other opportunities," Kelly said.

Hit by high fuel prices -- as well as less-favorable fuel hedges -- in the last year, Southwest hopes to increase annual revenue by over $1 billion by 2010.

As passengers are unwilling to pay significantly higher fares across the board, the airline is looking at more creative ways to generate revenue... including charging for actual meals onboard its planes.

FMI: www.southwest.com