Southwest Airlines thinks assigned seating might fly

By Suzanne Marta
The Dallas Morning News

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Southwest Airlines is giving serious thought to assigning seats on flights.

"I know that sounds like heresy coming from my lips," said Southwest President Colleen Barrett, at the Dallas carrier's annual media day yesterday.

The announcement is the latest example of how the 33-year-old discount carrier is shaking up its business, from scrapping reusable plastic boarding cards to flying longer flights.

For years, Southwest said assigning seats would eat up precious time, preventing the discounter from loading and unloading passengers in less than 20 minutes at an airport gate.

But testing as recently as four months ago showed the airline can meet its strict timetable with assigned seats, especially because technology has made other operations more efficient.

While more testing is needed and other problems need to be worked out, Barrett said she wouldn't be surprised to see the airline assign seats.

Many passengers, especially business travelers, seem to prefer assigned seats, particularly on the longer routes.

Assigned seats could be implemented in less than a year, once the airline decided to do it, said Tom Nealon, Southwest's chief information officer.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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