9/19/2007

in

Southwest Airlines will start numbering boarding passes, in an effort to address customer satisfaction.

Susie Kopecky

Southwest is spicing things up. In an effort to respond to growing customer needs, the domestic airline will soon be numbering its boarding passes in an effort to speed up wait times and provide for more order. The new policy is outlined in an article on NYTimes.com. As Southwest has historically not assigned its passengers with specific seating instructions, its new system won't be terribly different. The article summarized Gary Kelly, Chief Executive of the Airline, as believing that the rush to board, when given greater freedom, actually speeds up the boarding process rather than having people board who know exactly where they'll have to be. However, after testing out various new systems, it was decided that Southwest customers still preferred to have open boarding rather then being assigned to specific seats.  
  
Starting in November, Southwest fliers will be assigned the old letter (A, B, C) and in addition, will be assigned a number, which will designate their numerical place in line to board.