I recently flew with Southwest Airlines, and it was an incredibly frustrating experience. One of the major issues I encountered was their lack of seat assignments. This is especially problematic for families traveling with kids. Despite paying a premium for our tickets, my family was forced to sit apart. I had to beg strangers to swap seats, and thankfully, a kind passenger agreed, but it shouldn’t have to be that way.
To make matters worse, the flight attendants showed no interest in helping. They didn’t intervene when passengers, many of whom boarded last, were left scrambling for seats. I understand the boarding process, but the fact that Southwest doesn’t assign seats encourages chaos and inconsiderate behavior. Instead of creating a more relaxed atmosphere, it brought out the worst in people, who were fighting over seats like animals.
For an airline that claims to care about customer service, this is a terrible oversight. It’s bad practice to operate this way, especially for families and anyone with young children. Until they rethink their seating policies, I’ll be hesitant to fly with Southwest again.