Southwest Airline’s transition to assigned seating hasn’t gone exactly to plan, sparking a customer backlash.
Famously, the last major airline to offer non assigned seating, that changed recently in line with every other carrier.
However, many passengers complained of a severe lack of overhead bin space for carry-on bags close to their seats.
The airline is taking this onboard and will start by tweaking the boarding process.
Firstly, it will amend how the boarding process is staged, with more balanced boarding groups.
It hopes this will improve the boarding flow onto the plane.
It will also add larger overhead bins on most aircraft.
Around 70% of aircraft will receive more overhead bin space by the end of this year.
Southwest says this will result in space for about 50% more carry-on bags
The airline says it would also label bins above extra-legroom seats, so that these passengers who have paid a premium are guaranteed sufficient bin space.
Despite the complaints, Southwest is overall happy with the transition.
“If we see things in the live environment that can smooth the customer experience, we’ll continue to consider additional tweaks,” an airline spokesperson said.
