Okay, that’s too harsh. But it’s kind of sad to see them moving from an egalitarian “all passengers are equal — check in early, get on early” philosophy to ever-creeping fee transactions that, essentially, let people pay to be queue-jumpers.
DALLAS, Sept. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Don’t race. We’ll save your place! Southwest is proud to announce its newest product, EarlyBird Check-in, which gives Customers the option to score an early boarding position by adding an additional $10 to the price of a one-way fare. The low-cost service automatically reserves a boarding position for Customers prior to general check-in, allowing EarlyBird Customers to begin boarding the plane after Southwest’s Business Select and Rapid Rewards A-List Customers.
[…] “With EarlyBird Check-in, you no longer need to watch the clock or set your alarm to be one of the first Customers to check in for a Southwest flight. EarlyBird Customers can relax, and let us do the work for them,” said Kevin Krone, Southwest’s Vice President of Marketing, Sales and Distribution. An early boarding position provides Customers with the opportunity for a better seat selection and earlier access to overhead bin space, giving Customers the option to enhance their travel experience while creating incremental revenue opportunities for Southwest.
I.e., “we make money by creating more tiers of service.” Not that this is any different from what other airlines have done for years, and, as noted, “Business Select” customers already have the privilege. But Southwest still had a different feel to it, a lack of class and money distinctions between passengers. This marks further erosion of same.
I hereby flip Southwest the EarlyBird.
~laughs~
Well, considering that I have always thought that they sucked, I see this as a giant leap forward for them to the better and anything that gets rid of the flying cattle car feel is an improvement.
all they need to do now is to upgrade to Airbus, then they may just be flyable again.
Now, that said, the post yesterday of the ultimate seating arraingment….I see that as Southwest’s near future, just think how fast they could pack an airplane that was only two long rows.