Southwest finally changes the way it takes flights
The airline begins a test that could revise the entire process.
Few airlines stand out in the same way as the South West does it among its competitors. Some customers tend to remain loyal to the low -cost carrier thanks to its reliable service, while others appreciate the low rates of the carrier and the advantages of passengers as free tile bags and transport. On the other hand, the famous way of the single transporter to bring his passengers on board his planes is a unique trait that remains a little more conflict. But now Southwest has announced that he was finally changing the way he embarks on some of his flights. Read the rest to see how the beloved carrier could work on revising the process.
Read this then: The American prevents passengers from doing this on thefts, starting now .
Southwest has made some changes this year for the benefit of customers.
The post-avid travel landscape was a wild place for the two carriers who operate the flights and passengers who rely on them to arrive where they want to go. Even if the passenger numbers have rebounded at pre-pale levels and the takeoff of ticket sales, many airlines are make cuts on the roads And change policies to make sure they always strike their results. But Southwest has stood out for some of its decisions in recent months that could largely benefit its customers. AE0FCC31AE342FD3A1346EBB1F342FCB
In May, the carrier announced that he was investing in a Upgrade of $ 2 billion to its existing fleet to help improve the passenger experience. The company said that it would update its wifi on board to attract more commercial passengers, Installation of power ports In each seat of the Boeing 737 Max aircraft in its fleet, adding larger air bins to simplify the boarding process, double the number of films available for flight entertainment and addition New alcoholic drinking options at its drink service.
Reservation with the carrier has also become more practical. On July 28, Southwest announced that it would become the First major airline To get rid of expiration dates for flight credits. The change allows customers to recover their money if they need to cancel a non -refundable ticket and use the funds to a future trip at any time in the future.
And the southwest has even made slight modifications to the way passengers can board its flights when it launched its improved self-service boarding functionality in August. The service allows travelers to Upgrade In the first A1-A15 boarding section of the airline via the application of the carrier or Southwest.com instead of limiting them to do so in person at the airport. But now another change arrives at the carrier's boarding process.
Southwest tests some modifications to the way he takes his flights.
Traveling with your family can present a unique set of challenges, whatever the airline you steal. But those who know the Southwest seats and embarkation system by the letter and the number of groups know that this can make any group trip with the carrier more difficult to coordinate, especially with children in trailer. On most flights, the airline allows groups with children aged six and under to get on board after the 60 passengers in group A on the plane to try to secure the sitting space together.
But now the company says it is Test a new system . During their recent presentation of the media day, Southwest announced that families with children of six and under on flights from Atlanta Hartfield Airport can board the group A, whatever the letter Who has been assigned to them, said Beat of Hawaii. However, they will not be allowed to sit in the first 15 rows of the plane.
RELATED: For more up-to-date information, register for our daily newsletter .
The airline is trying to reduce boarding hours.
According to Beat of Hawaii, the airline says it hopes to attract more families on vacation. But the company says that it also explores means to reduce the time necessary to board the plane.
Southwest, which has already announced a famous 10 -minute turnaround to empty and push its flights in the 1970s, saw its average turn time Jump as its passenger load has increased in the following decades. While the airline is still considered among the fastest in the industry, its turn times have increased to around 40 minutes in recent years, reports Simple-Flying.
Now the company says that it turns to data science to tackle the problem and save precious minutes on the tarmac. "It's not as simple as shooting another staircase on the plane and saying:" Go down or go up. "There are other opportunities in the Tour where we have to work to win the maximum potential," Steve Goldberg , Vice-president Director of Operations and Hospitality for Southwest, recently said by Simple.
This decision could also be ahead of new regulations.
Even if Southwest will probably get a lot of family praise that will be happy to see the change in boarding, there can be more reasoning behind that than the simple convenience of the customer and a faster service. On July 8, the Ministry of Transport (DOT) sent an opinion to the airlines requesting that they help ensure that all families were traveling with children aged 13 or less should be seated next to a tutor for free, Afar reported. And although it is not yet a legally compulsory requirement, the Federal Agency could soon issue a change based on the authority granted by a 2016 law adopted by the Congress.
Other airlines have already taken measures to ensure that families or groups traveling together can be Sitting side by side . In May, Delta confirmed that it would prevent its policy from blocking solo travelers from reserving specific seats assignments by reserving certain lines in the main economic cabin for those traveling in groups of three or more. However, all leaflets with platinum or diamond status in the airline's airline loyalty program will always be able to Select these seats No matter how many people are included in their reserves, Voyage + Leisure reported.