I'm actually amazed to hear someone say this. Maybe you only travel alone, like middle seats, and are always first to board?
Every time I accidentally fly Southwest, I'm horrified at how bad the boarding system is. People plop down wherever leaving one-seat holes so you can't sit with your partner.
It also guarantees more seat trading than an assigned system because most people in the assigned system have seats they wanted. People on Southwest flights are always haggling so they can sit with their partner. I almost never see seat trading on other flights.
My mind is blown. But then again every time I take a Southwest flight, I'm wondering "who tf is this for?" and I've finally found my guy.
Online check in 24 hours ahead of departure got me a good boarding number, so most aisle (and window) seats would be open. And the times I was flying with someone, one of us would take the middle seat.
The times I didn't check in early could suck, but I was pretty good at spotting couples that had split aisle-window (leaving the middle seat empty), and then calling their bluff.
But it's been several years since I've flown, and I'm sure all carriers have since innovated new ways of making the experience worse, while charging for the privilege of mitigating it.
Every time I accidentally fly Southwest, I'm horrified at how bad the boarding system is. People plop down wherever leaving one-seat holes so you can't sit with your partner.
It also guarantees more seat trading than an assigned system because most people in the assigned system have seats they wanted. People on Southwest flights are always haggling so they can sit with their partner. I almost never see seat trading on other flights.
My mind is blown. But then again every time I take a Southwest flight, I'm wondering "who tf is this for?" and I've finally found my guy.