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Dallas-based Southwest Airlines has come under fire from passengers after it made a major process change just over a month ago.
Southwest transitioned Jan. 27 from its open seating policy, with passengers now needing to select their seats or be assigned to specific spots.
Passengers have shared their frustrations with the new policy on social media. They say they have issues reading the seat numbers, run into snags with the boarding flow and are unable to spread out on the plane.
“We’re always looking for ways to improve our customer experience, to continue delivering the seamless and reliable travel journey that customers expect from Southwest,” a company spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Thursday in response to a request for comment.
“The employees of Southwest deliver the best hospitality in the airline industry alongside our best-in-class reliability,” the spokesperson added. “We look forward to continuing to provide our customers with friendly, reliable and low-cost travel.”
In the “r/SouthwestAirlines” forum on Reddit, one user wrote, “Yes, it is as bad as everyone is saying.”
The person added, “[I] paid for an emergency row seat. There are two people next to me. All the other rows around me (same class or lower) only have one person on them. We still can’t scoot over even though we paid for seats.”
A different user wrote, “I’m currently on a flight, and it’s about 25% full (maybe less). They said people can’t change seats for weight balance reasons. I’m in a full row. The row in front of me is empty.”
“It’s not that bad,” said another person. “You just need to pay more.”
In the same forum, someone posted, “Here’s what nobody is saying about the new assigned seating. There is an alarming [number] of customers that have no clue how the seats are numbered or how to read them.”
The passenger said he or she saw about 15 people sitting in the wrong seat, plus other flyers asking for help in finding their row.
“At first I was thinking that the majority of folks are just idiots, then it occurred to me that these are likely frequent SWA customers who have never dealt with seat numbers,” said the same user.
“It’s mind-boggling that this is difficult for anyone.”
A different Redditor wrote, “I’ve mainly flown SW, but still know how to find my seat on an airplane. It’s not hard. Lol. Even when there wasn’t assigned seating, the seats still had numbers. It’s mind-boggling that this is difficult for anyone.”
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Still another person said, “It’s probably true and that’s funny to even consider, because the seats have always been numbered even before.”
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One man posted on X, “I always used to fly Southwest. Was trying to find a flight, and saw that everything I liked is gone. Higher prices and fees for everything. Plus, I might get separated with this new seating. Unfortunate.”
“Hey @SouthwestAir, please go back to your open seating. Sincerely, EVERYONE THAT [FLIES] SOUTHWEST,” said a woman on X.
Under Southwest’s “assigned seating with premium options” page, the airline advises customers, “Choose your seat. Elevate your experience.”
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It also says, “For your comfort, we’re introducing seat options that allow you to choose the experience you prefer. This includes options to select where you want to sit and upgrade to an extra legroom seat, giving you more choices when you travel with us.”
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