Southwest Airlines does not operate like any other major airline.
That's an intentional choice as the discount carrier has a unique boarding process that's designed to be more democratic. Instead of selling seat assignments, Southwest has open seating.
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When a passenger buys a ticket, that only entitles them to a seat, not a specific seat. Instead, they get a boarding group (A, B, or C) and a number (between 1-60). There are ways to get an earlier boarding position, but most passengers have theirs assigned when they check in 24 hours before their flight.
Once you get to the airport, Southwest Airlines (LUV) -) boards with a very specific system. First, it boards "pre-board" customers, people who need special assistance, then it boards Business Select, people holding the A 1-15 positions, followed by A 16-60, and then the B and C groups also in numeric order.
After people get on the plane, they can take any seat. That's where a level of chaos kicks in for Southwest passengers.
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Southwest has boarding policy problems
Many passengers are confused by the Southwest boarding system and look for an assigned seat once they get on the plane. In reality, all seats are first come, first served.
The problem is that some people with early boarding numbers try to save seats for people with a later position. You would think that the airline would frown upon people doing that — since it's supposed to be open seating — but it does not specifically prohibit saving seats.
Southwest shared its policy (really its lack of a policy) on seat saving in a recent X (formerly Twitter) post:
We regret any disappointment during the boarding process today. All Southwest flights are open seating, and we don't have a specific policy for or against saving seats. Still, we apologize for any frustration and hope for smoother sailing in the future. -Jhericca
— Southwest Airlines (@SouthwestAir) September 21, 2023
Basically, if Southwest Airlines banned seat saving, it would put its flight attendants in the impossible position of having to enforce that policy. That would slow down boarding, and likely lead to some intense situations.
Generally, passengers tolerate seat saving — although less so if the seats are in the front half of the plane — but they're not a big fan of Southwest's biggest boarding problem.
Southwest has a middle-seat problem
On most Southwest flights, during boarding, they make an announcement that the flight is full so expect someone to occupy the open middle seat in your row. In practice, that just means that the flight is mostly full, and usually, there are a few open seats.
Passengers have different tactics to encourage late boarders to look for a different open seat, not the one next to them. That could be placing a bag on an open seat, trying to look like someone you don't want to sit next to (coughing openly or eating something fragrant are bold ways to do that), or the old classic, not making eye contact.
Southwest Airlines flight attendants know all the tricks and on a recent flight, a video went viral after an amusing incident was called out.
“As you can see I was trying to do reverse psychology,” wrote Sophie, in the caption of a TikTok video, which took place on a flight to San Jose.
The social media influencer was trying to not make eye contact with her fellow passengers and a flight attendant caught her in the act.
“If you’re trying to avoid the eye contact so nobody will sit in the middle, that’s not going to work today,” he announced to everyone on the plane.
Southwest flight attendants do a good job using humor to defuse tense situations, but the airline's lack of assigned seats leads to tension with passengers.
