Southwest Airlines considering assigned seating

Airline Industry Information, Oct 29, 2004

AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION-(C)1997-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

US discount carrier Southwest Airlines is considering scrapping its no-assigned seating policy as part of a shake up of its business practices.

The 33 year old pioneer of discount air travel said that it is also considering scrapping reusable plastic boarding cards and introducing longer flights. Southwest Airlines has always insisted that assigning seats added time to the turnaround of an aircraft costing it more money and preventing the unloading and loading of passenger within 20 minutes.

Southwest Airlines said that it had run tests with assigned seating and found that it could stick to its strict timetable due to the advent of technology that makes other operations more efficient. A spokesperson for the airline said that assigned seats could be implemented within twelve months if it decided to go ahead, reports The Dallas Morning Times.

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