It’s been just over a month since Southwest Airlines ended its historic open seating and single-file boarding processes.
And after some initial growing pains, the carrier is making some adjustments.
In a letter to customers late last week, Southwest said it planned to “continue to refine” some of its new procedures. It also pledged to make changes to its overhead bins after some customers expressed frustration with the new configuration.
“We have already made several improvements and will continue to refine the experience to reward your loyalty,” Tony Roach, Southwest’s chief customer and brand officer, wrote in the memo seen by TPG.
All this comes from the hand of important changes the airline launched at the end of January.
Changes in boarding, soon there will be space in the overhead compartments
Over the next month, the Dallas-based airline plans to add new signage on board to ensure that only customers seated in their new seats with extra legroom can use the overhead bins above those seats for their luggage.
This is something many of the largest US airlines do to reserve bin space for customers flying in their rows with extra legroom.
In the case of Southwest, this move comes after some travelers complained about purchasing (or upgrading from) their new, higher-priced seats only to board and find the bins above their seats were already occupied.
Another change passengers should see before long: Southwest said it would aim to create “better-balanced boarding groups” to improve the boarding and deplaning process.
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As a reminder, the carrier now uses an eight-group boarding process more similar to the setup found on other airlines and, like its competitors, reserves its priority groups for credit card holdersmembers with A-List status and travelers with more legroom.
Beyond that, the airline is accelerating its plans to modernize its cabins with larger overhead bins that can hold up to 50% more luggage. The airline expects seven out of 10 of the planes it flies to have those larger containers installed by the end of this year.
Read more: Southwest is adding Starlink Wi-Fi to its planes
growing pains
It’s not entirely surprising that Southwest has had some problems getting passengers (and their bags) on and off its planes.
In the last year alone, the carrier has:
- Checked baggage fees introducedwhich led to many more customers taking carry-on luggage instead of checking their luggage.
- Pivoting from open seating to assigned seating
- It revamped its boarding procedures to an eight-group configuration.
In a recent interview with TPG, Roach acknowledged that the airline saw opportunities to make improvements after the major restructuring.
“It’s kind of a clarification on how shipping groups are assigned. There were customers who wanted to make sure they had access to space in the containers,” he said.
“I think we’ve heard some feedback about things people would like us to change,” Roach added, “but we’ve heard most people say it’s actually a calmer, smoother process.”
In a nutshell
When Southwest first announced its shift to assigned seating, the airline cited customer research thatclaimed, showed that more than 80% of travelers preferred a seat assigned to the old first-come, first-served model.
Time will tell how customers view that new policy along with the host of other changes the airline has made in recent months.
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