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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I have twice been on Southwest and seen people save a dozen or more seats.  Both times I went ahead and sat down, because saving that many seats is incredibly rude to your fellow passengers, so I'll be mildly rude back.[/quote]

I fly Southwest several times a year (for the last 20 or so years) and have never seen this even once. I am sure it happens but it's definitely not common. I also have had such good experiences with Southwest customer service that I would assume if someone did this and it genuinely caused a problem they would intervene and work it out.

One reason I probably have not seen people saving seats much on Southwest is that I get the sense people who do this likely head to the back of the plane. I don't see the issue with this really. When I fly Southwest I generally take the first available non-middle seat I come across (or if flying with others the first pair or 3-together I get to) and I could not care less if people in the back of the plane were saving seats for people boarding later. If anything this is preferable because it means large groups will be clumped together and you won't wind up sitting between people who might be interacting or passing things back and forth.

I am convinced people who hate on Southwest just never fly it because I think it's great. Before I made him start flying it my DH used to make fun of the boarding groups and unassigned seating but he's now a convert -- they didn't do it to be cheap or annoying they did it because it's efficient and egalitarian which is their guiding ethos and one I think is pretty lacking in a lot of air travel. This is also why they do free checked bags (it makes boarding and de-boarding faster and more efficient and thus results in more on-time flights and less lag time between flights) and were one of first airlines to just do snacks and a scaled back drink service. Not having first or business class means they can fit more people on planes and keeps overall prices down (especially if you book early with Wanna Getaway tickets which helps them fly full airplanes and therefore is a good way to get a pretty inexpensive plane ticket). They are a well run business that has never needed a bailout and is well regarded for their customer service and overall effectiveness at delivering the promised service.

It's the Costco of airlines. It's not fancy and won't impress anyone but it's a smartly run and successful business that also gives people what they want. Not much to argue with.[/quote]

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