Southwest Airlines is no longer the Wild West of air travel.
The beloved budget carrier completed a key step in its dramatic transformation this week, introducing assigned seating on January 27.
In eliminating its polarizing open seating policy, Southwest did away with a truly unique travel experience. After all, what set Southwest apart from the three remaining Big Four carriers and no-frills low-cost competitors like Spirit and Frontier were both its perks and quirks.
The perks included flying with two free bags—this policy has also gone away—and not having to pay change fees, and the quirks included the boom or bust Wild West nature of its boarding process.
The thrills started well before you arrived at the airport, when you'd set an alarm on your phone for exactly 24 hours before your scheduled departure in hopes of checking in at the earliest possible moment to secure the coveted A boarding group without having to pay any extra money for the early-bird service.
The adrenaline rush of learning your boarding position the day before your flight is no more.
Now, I admit that the previous boarding process could be less fun than check-in, but it had the same unpredictability that I liken to venturing out west during the 19th century.
Crowded gate areas were always far more chaotic ahead of Southwest flights compared to other carriers because no one was guaranteed a specific seat.
While passengers often viewed their fellow travelers as obstacles to their ideal seat and coveted overhead bin space, the open seating policy typically led to small talk and even conversations as customers attempted to file into line in the correct order of their boarding passes.
"What number do you have?" you might ask someone nearby if their smartphone screen or paper boarding pass was out of sight.
Without fail, you and your boarding mate would exhale that you were not alone and in the right spot.
As someone who lives by a Southwest operating base in Baltimore and has flown it more than any other carrier, I'll miss these little moments.
Free Wi-Fi, new seats and enhanced cabin spaces are improvements that should be celebrated, but if you ask me, in eliminating open seating Southwest is throwing away its most singular achievement.
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