The "New" Southwest Airlines Debacle
Southwest Airlines has one of the best safety records in the airline industry and they have planes with the least leg room, corny flight attendants (whose humor is getting old); the reviews are mixed. The most aggravating thing about the ‘Southwest experience’ is the boarding process. Yesterday marked day #2 of their new and improved system of boarding; obviously designed by a MORON!
In the past, Southwest has boasted an open seating policy, which is chaotic and brings out the worst in air travelers. Depending when you checked in, you were assigned an A, B or C. “A” group passengers boarded the plane first, “B” group second and so on…..
The end result of this system was a line up of passengers, jockeying for seats like a human version of the video game Pole Position. Some passengers would practically lie down in their group section to be the first one onto the plane. The line up would start an hour before the flight boarded and it was a ridiculous display of human “gotcha” and “I was here first”. In actuality, it was an embarrassing display of human behavior and competitive negativity.
Southwest somehow recognized that their existing system really sucked, and decided to improve things a bit. Until yesterday, I did not believe that there could a system as dumb as the one at Southwest or more aggravating; but they have once again become the innovator of idiocy in the airline business.
Now, when you book on line or in person you are assigned an A, B or C with a number of between 1-30 or 31-60. Southwest has installed poles with numbers and the passengers are asked to line up according to their numbers. The passengers load in two groups within the A, B and C sections.
Understanding that yesterday was only day#2 of the new system, the complexity of the system and the expectation that people are going to ask each other what ‘number’ they are, makes the process is truly foolish. Confusion reigned supreme as chaos ruled the boarding process and even the agents at the gates stumbled through the new process calling out the wrong groups. Passengers just cut in line and loaded onto the plane in any order.
Southwest is proving to be no cheaper than the other carriers. Their planes are beginning to show wear and tear and their ‘on time’ reputation is in shambles. Their boarding process was based on the fact that they were a value based airline with no frills.
Southwest may be a convenient airline choice if you fly from Manchester but like the rest of the industry, they are falling prey to aggravating operational and customer aggravating initiatives equal to their competitors. This new process demonstrates that the brain trust at Southwest needs an infusion of…well…common sense intelligence...or maybe just.....BRAINS!
I think it is time for Southwest to follow their competitors lead and just pony up and use the standard reservation system with assigned seats. All of the slogans and cutesy customer service in the world is not a replacement for solid service. A company's ability to exceed the expectation of their customers is what wins in the end!
Southwest once boasted a company 'culture' that critics credited as the secret to their success. I think it is time for them to re-examine and readjust that culture and to take a long hard look at their operational inefficiencies or my fear is that they will sink into the abyss that is airline service and travel in the 21st century.
Over the next couple of weeks I will be rating and reviewing the airlines and hopefully bloggers will join in with their comments and their experiences.
Flying
I am not sure if it is the air traffic control system, the airlines, the staff or deregulation but it is truly a unenviable thing to do today.
It is scary when you hear stories like the two pilots who overshot Denver because they fell asleep. It is also scary when you see pilots who look as if they just graduated high school and they are flying 50-200 people around crowded skies.
I feel comfort when I see a 40-50 year old in the cockpit who seems confident and relaxed. That is getting less and less prevalent the more I fly.
On a flight to Detroit I noticed another plane flying to our right and thought..."I wonder if they are landing right behind us. All of a sudden, they were parallel to us; then I realized that there were two runways where planes were landing. That must be a difficult thing for air traffic control to coordinate?
The other issue is overcrowded flights. Everyone is flying today because of the low prices. Not that I want to go back to high fares but the experience of flying is not what it used to be.
I am not a believer in railroads but at least you are closer to the ground. I can not believe that most of the airlines are losing money when you look at every seat being taken on most flights. How much more ideal could being in business be?
I realize that there are those who must fly for business etc, but with all we read today about the safety in the skies, the lack of a 21st Century Air Control System, and a failing 20th Century Air Control System, I prefer to stay on the ground. Everyone who flies today has a horror story to share.