No More Pre-Boarding For Families on Southwest Airlines

by Justin Glow on

I’ve got some more Southwest Airlines news for you: Today CEO Gary Kelly announced his company’s decision to continue their open-seating boarding policy, but he failed to mention they will also ditch pre-boarding for families.

“Beginning Oct. 2, people traveling with small children will no longer be allowed to pre-board Southwest Airlines flights,” reports World Hum. “It’s all in the name of fairness, the airline says.”

There’s been no mention of this on the official Southwest Airlines blog, but one commenter responds negatively in a seperate thread: “I just heard on cnbc that families and adults with children will not be allowed to board 1st. If this is true, I have officially flown with southwest for the last time.”

I don’t have kids, so it doesn’t really affect me… but I can’t imagine why people would complain about families with children being able to board before the rest of the group. Maybe these are the same people who pick fights with 5-year-old kids? I’m not sure.

So, folks with kids: is this a deal-breaker?

Update: As many of our readers have pointed out, Southwest didn’t completely get rid of pre-boarding — but they did move it. With the new system, families with at least one child under 4-years-old who do not have an “A” boarding pass will be allowed to board in between the “A” and “B” groups. Which basically means that all families with small children will automatically have an “A” boarding pass. So technically they did get rid of pre-boarding, but they’re still accommodating families by allowing them to board before of 66% of the passengers on a full flight (when it really matters).

Our sister blog, ParentDish, has their own take on the situation. Click here to read what they have to say.

Southwest Airlines Reaches Decision on Boarding Process

by Justin Glow on

“To assign, or not to assign,” the Southwest Airlines blog reads. “That is the question.”

I’ve always been a fan of Southwest for two reasons: they’re generally cheaper than other carriers in my neck of the woods, and I enjoy the open seating and boarding process. Why? Because it rewards those that make an effort to get a good seat instead of randomly assigning them. Why should Joe Blow get the emergency exit row? He showed up at the airport late, held up the security line with his 18-hole boots, and made it to the gate in a breathless, mad dash. With Southwest, because I’m dedicated (read: anal) to being a part of the elite “A” group, I’m rewarded with the first pick of seats. I like that.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little worried as I read Southwest Airline’s blog post this morning stating they had reached a decision. Would they adopt the standard assigned-seating boarding process? Would they do away with open seating? The tension was building.

“Southwest has decided to keep open seating, but to adopt a new and improved boarding process,” writes Gary Kelly, Southwest Airlines CEO. [We wrote about the improved boarding process here.] “These decisions were based on the input we got from you, our Customers, through this blog, written correspondence, and surveys taken during the tests. While a substantial majority of our Customers prefer the ability to select their own seats onboard the aircraft, many of those folks have told us they don’t like our existing boarding procedure that sometimes has Customers doing everything possible to be at the front of their boarding group.”

This is perfect. No longer do you have the line sitters (okay fine, I admit it — I was one of them), the people who cut in line (never did that, of course), or the people who stand in the “B” line even though they have a “C” boarding pass, hoping the ticket agent will say, “Oh, sorry you have a ‘C’ boarding pass… but that’s okay, come on through!” Thankfully every time I saw this happened, the agent kindly sent them to the line they belonged in.

Anyway, good job Southwest. To read the details of the new boarding process, visit the Southwest Airlines blog.

TSA Pours Out Coffee, Ignores Boxcutter

by Justin Glow on

Remember the pudding incident? Another BoingBoing reader had a similar experience — this time, Shannon Larratt‘s girlfriend forgot she had a boxcutter in her purse, but the TSA didn’t notice/care. They were more interested in throwing away the cup of coffee she had just purchased at the terminal cafe.

What’s scary is this probably happens pretty regularly, but not everyone thinks to sneak off to the airplane bathroom and snap a photo of the incriminating device. One commenter writes,

“I’ve done the same thing a half dozen times. I use my mess bag both for biking and travel, and I’ve at times forgotten to thoroughly de-terrorize it. I’ve been let on planes with an assortment of knives, bike tools and folding tools, no problems.”

What I’d like to know is if a passenger or flight attendant somehow finds out that there’s a boxcutter on the plane, whose fault is it? The person who accidentally forgot it was in their purse, or the TSA official who didn’t notice it?

Is it Safe to Fly in Asia?

by Catherine Bodry on

When I was in Asia I often paid for an overnight train rather than fly in a rickety plane. My guidebook advised that Laos Airlines had one of the worst safety records in the world, and there was no way I was taking any chances on an airline with a bad reputation. And reading the news lately, I’m glad I opted for the slower alternative.

Msnbc.com reports that pilot shortages, a string of crashes, and air traffic growth are raising concerns about the safety of flying in Asia. More than 50 budget airlines have popped up around the continent, and if you’re thinking about flying on one you should do some homework.

Tom Ballantyne, chief corespondent for Orient Aviation magazine, suggests that potential passengers research safety issues and accidents for both the budget airline and its parent company. For example, the One-Two-Go flight that crashed and killed 88 passengers last week on Phuket, Thailand is connected to Orient-Thai Airlines — a company that has been cited for outdated safety manuals and once almost hit a tower in Tokyo. Ballantyne also recommends checking out what kind of planes the airline operates — are they new or old?

Indonesia has had the most problems. The report cites the lure of higher-paying jobs for pilots in the Middle East and other parts of Asia, as well as a shortfall of trained flight-deck personnel.

It’s enough to keep this girl on the road, that’s for sure.

Fashion Takes To The Skies

by Brett Atkinson on

The smart marketing team at Air New Zealand have been earning their salaries recently. Earlier this week we reported on the special gay-themed flight from San Francisco to Sydney (presumably via Auckland) that New Zealand’s national carrier is running in the week before Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.

Now the little airline that could has just run a special fashion flight from Sydney to Auckland. On board the three hour hop across the Tasman Sea were the cream of Australasia’s fashion media, and they were treated to a couple of catwalk shows at 30,000 feet. The flight was specially scheduled to launch Air New Zealand Fashion Week.

Apparently the first show was a little bumpy, but the turbulence subsided in time for the second outing of a few intrepid models. There’s no word if an aisle seat ensured a better goody bag and more champagne than those crammed in by the windows.

Via Stuff. Click here for pics and a video of the Blue Steel sky high shenanigans. Thanks to Stuff for the pic.