Southwest Airlines
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Southwest claims to be open seating but…
Southwest claims to be open seating but they aren't. On my recent trip to LV I watched people reserve seats for others on all 4 flights. It's quite obvious one person upgraded to A seating and saves seats for the rest of their party. When I inquired with SW they told me that this was okay and condoned this behavior. Now I know how to scam the seating system and save a ton of money. Just purchase one A seat, and save seats for the rest for my party. Thanks SW for saving me money on my travels. Here is the response to my inquiry, I will be carrying a copy of this response just in case a flight attendant tells me I cannot save seats: "Dear Paul, Thank you for taking the time to contact us. We appreciate the opportunity to address your concerns. I regret to hear of your disappointment on your most recent flight back to Philadelphia. All flights on Southwest are "open-seating," and Customers are free to take any available seat onboard the aircraft. Understandably, Customers want to sit by their friends and family members and enjoy each other’s company. Our Flight Attendants typically don’t prevent Customers from saving seats for their friends and family members unless it interferes with our boarding process. Our hope is that early boarding Customers will not save too many seats for their traveling companions as it can be frustrating to a Customer when his/her seat of choice is being saved. Our open-seating policy comes with good points and challenges, and I am sorry you were disappointed with the handling of this particular situation. Your patronage means the world to us. We realize that it can take only one unpleasant experience to reposition our Company in a Customer’s mind, and our genuine wish is that you will not allow this occurrence to forever diminish your impression of Southwest Airlines. We hope to welcome you onboard another Southwest flight soon as we are certain more favorable circumstances will prevail. Sincerely, Alexis Martinez Southwest Airlines"