Southwest Airlines carries more domestic US passengers than any other airline last time I checked. Not to mention, they have a bit of a presence here in Atlanta. I posted a while back that Southwest and I were going to be spending a little more time together over the next year. While I generally have some flexibility in carrier choice as long as the fare is the same, there’s no doubting that I’ll be flying Delta a little less and Southwest a little more. (Image courtesy of Southwest Airlines)
It’s been a while since I’ve written about Southwest. Frankly, I find them to be just fine for flights of less than 3 hours. Early Bird Check-in resolves a lot of my boarding fears, and it’s entirely likely that I’m A-List by this time next year. But as I ponder the year ahead, I’ve been thinking that there are two things Southwest could do that would assuage nearly any apprehension I have about flying with them –
- An enhanced legroom coach product
- Power outlets
Of course, as far as I know, they have no plans to offer either. I know that the extra legroom product goes against the current philosophy of shoving as many seats as possible onboard, but it would seem to me that the up-sale potential here is at least worth considering. If managed and marketed correctly, an extra legroom product could (should) be revenue positive.
And then, there’s my #1 wish for any airline, power outlets. My preference for shorter Southwest flights negates the value of this, but the fact is that Southwest is flying some fairly lengthy trans-continental flights. The availability of power for work and play enroute is an issue, and is one that I consider when choosing which airline to book.
Certainly, each of these wishes come with a cost, but they have potential to be revenue positive if handled correctly. That’s especially true for an enhanced legroom product. Will my wishes be granted? I doubt it, but it couldn’t hurt to wish on a Wednesday morning, could it?
-MJ, October 15, 2014
Extra legroom options would indeed be nice, but would be confusing on an airline like Southwest during open boarding with so many newbies flying. People would wrongly sit in those seats, flight attendants would have to kick them out, they would get mad not understanding, etc. Would slow the whole process down. As for outlets, that is just a non-issue for me these days when external chargers are so cheap and small. I always carry a Jackery that costs $29 that holds three full iPhone or iPad charges. Laptops are a bit harder to charge so easily, but people are… Read more »
@Leslie,
Maybe if I bought a new MacBook Air is stop caring about power. đŸ™‚
@Mika, doesn’t Southwest still offer same day changes for just the difference + or – the fare ? Did they change that?
My wish list would be bigger pitch and only allowing elites in the A boarding group ever. I’m not even elite on them but still like the idea.
@Dan,
I think the deal is you have to buy up to full fare, but someone will chime in if I’m wrong.
My biggest wish would be for a better and free for elites, same day change option. JetBlue has a great program for its Mosaic members, there is no charge for any same day change, and you can confirm a change as long as there is even 1 Y seat. The only hassle is you have to make the change by phone, and can’t do it in the app. Also if you are already checked in on a flight, you have to call to un-check in. United also has a pretty good change program for high elites that even lets you… Read more »
@Mika,
Good point. I’d appreciate the same. Of course, I wonder if we’d see the advent of a change fee for everyone else with this change? I may be an outlier, but I don’t think the implementation of reasonable and graduated change fees at WN would be a bad thing.
With the exception of Jet Blue, every airline that offers enhanced coach legroom products has done it by squashing the rest of coach uncomfortably to 31-30 inch pitch.
You’re right, EC. On the other hand, I’m not sure how much WN cut their pitch with the installation of evolve seating….might not make that much difference.
There’s no way they do either (while I like both). The extra legroom seats would need to be managed and goes against everything they stand for – fast boarding, short turn times, no need to monitor who sits where, etc. And the power ports won’t be added for the same reason you stated – most (not all) of their flights are short. Very few long haul. You should have sufficient battery power for that. If not, but an extra battery. If I’m Southwest, I’m not even considering offering either enhancement….
@Larry,
Agreed. Truth told, I’m not certain WN’s RES system would even be able to appropriately manage upsales to such a product, even if they wanted to.