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Southwest's Open Seating Is Over Here's What Passengers Think Of Assigned Seats · INSIGHT TODAY

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: We're here in Honolulu to witness the end of an
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: era in aviation. Southwest Airlines is getting rid of the
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: boarding system that it's had for more than fifty years,
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: and we're going to fly in the last flight before
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: passengers have assigned seats.
• 0:14
  Speaker 2: Here's been long overdubs. I just feel like assigned seating
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: causes issues and takes longer.
• 0:20
  Speaker 3: The open seating has been one of the stalwart of Southwest.
• 0:24
  Speaker 3: It's going to be hard to give that up.
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: Southwest Airlines is about to fly its last ever flight
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: without assigned seating for passengers. CNBC is going to go
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: on that flight. It's from Honolulu to Los Angeles. I
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: said an alarm to make sure that I get the
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: best seat possible. I don't want to end up in
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: the back in the middle. And this is a really
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: quirky practice that is dying in just a few hours
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: with Southwest going to assigned seating, just like other airline
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: that we know of, and for years, Southwest passengers have
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: been diligently setting those alarms so that they get the
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: best seat they can. So I got B seven, which
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: I think is pretty good, although I did set my
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: alarm twenty four hours exactly before my flight, but I
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: guess a lot of other people were checking in before.
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: I didn't get any of the add on so that
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: I could check in early or get early boarding. So
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: I'll be in the B group, so second group number seven,
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: and we'll see how we go. So why is Southwest Airlines,
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: the carrier that already flies more passengers domestically than any
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: other airline, changing this policy it's held onto for so
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: many decades. There are a couple of reasons. One is
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: to increase profits. The prices for these seats are going
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: to vary if you sit closer to the front, and
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: then even more money if you sit in extra legroom.
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: That's something that it's competitors like Delta, United and American
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: already do. The other reason is Southwest executives sake customers
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: actually want this change. They are looking for more certainty
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: when they're flying. Southwest's flights have gotten a bit longer
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: over the years, and they don't want to show up
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: at the airport and not know exactly where they're sitting.
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: The end of the open seating policy has drawn a
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: lot of mixed feelings from customers. Some love the change,
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: others hate it.
• 2:22
  Speaker 4: I'm not real happy about it. I think that there
• 2:27
  Speaker 4: are people that are getting money hungry, and Southwest has
• 2:32
  Speaker 4: always been two free bags and open seating, and now
• 2:35
  Speaker 4: they're like everybody else. Nothing is setting them apart. I'm
• 2:39
  Speaker 4: not really sure I'm gonna stick on Southwest. This may
• 2:42
  Speaker 4: be one of my last flights.
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: I don't like it, Okay, why not?
• 2:48
  Speaker 3: Seems like I always get the bad seats.
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: How do you feel about this policy change, going from
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: unassigned to assigence seats.
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: I'm okay with it, okay. Why Sometimes you know it's
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: at least if I know where I'm sitting at one thing,
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: but when you have to look and you got your
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: luggage and stuff, So I'm okay with having this unseat.
• 3:06
  Speaker 3: It made south much different from a the other airplanes,
• 3:09
  Speaker 3: from the other airlines, and you could check your bag
• 3:13
  Speaker 3: and get your seat and not have to pay all
• 3:18
  Speaker 3: the up fees. And that's gone.
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: Now are you excited about the end of open seating
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: on something?
• 3:23
  Speaker 5: I'm excited about the end of open seating with Southwest
• 3:26
  Speaker 5: because I like to reassurance that I can sit with
• 3:30
  Speaker 5: my loved ones and just friends and family in general.
• 3:34
  Speaker 5: It makes the situation less stressful.
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: Southwest executives have some the customer preferences are changing, with
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: some travelers looking for a bit more space on board
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: and they're willing to pay up for it. And this
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: is something that we've heard throughout the airline industry where
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: carriers are putting in fancier seats, new first class, some
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: cases premium economy, and more extra leg room seats to
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: carry a higher fare than the standard economy that a
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: lot of us used to.
• 4:06
  Speaker 4: Last flight, there's going to be an open seat flight,
• 4:10
  Speaker 4: the final and last open seat fight tonight.
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: Okay, so we're on the famous infamous line right now.
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: I'm a little bit nervous IMB seven. A lot of
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: people are getting on, but we're told it's not a
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: full flight, so trying to stay calm, thank you, thank you.
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: So I got twenty nine A, which is pretty good,
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: almost the last row of the aircraft, and I feel
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: pretty good about it. And it's trying to say week
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: and I think that will be a challenge and my
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: hardest little racing because that was very exciting and ducing.
• 4:48
  Speaker 5: Good like Angelo.
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: Well, we made it to Los Angeles and as we
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: were getting off the plane, some Southwest employees were handing
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: out commemorative bag tags and trading cards for the but
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: one gate over, you see Southwest already moving on with
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: things and starting with this new boarding process assigned seats.
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: While customers seem to be mixed on assigned seating versus
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: open seating, we have heard from flight attendants that they
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: are quote overjoyed about this. When there was open seating,
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: they had to wait for customers to find seats. Sometimes
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: they would turn around, they would go to the back
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: of the plane and then the front of the plane,
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: and so they are excited that now everybody knows where
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: they're going to sit. It'll take a few months, I
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: think for employees for customers to get used to this,
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: and we'll be following along to see how Southwest does.
• 5:34
  Speaker 4: Thank you for being a part of history.
• 5:37
  Speaker 5: Sign seating. Here you go, new south Ist Airline