Southwest cancels singles

Nothing wrong with unassigned seating - only whiners complain.

I'd explain to you what's wrong with unassigned seating, but you're not worth the trouble. And as far as whining and complaining---you've started fourteen whining and complaining threads today alone!

You will have to speak more clearly, I can't make out what you are saying because of your tears.

I am disappointed Southwest will start filling middle seats 12/1, assuming there's enough demand that is necessary. 

And sorry, but calling people "fool" for flying right now is a bit harsh.  My wife and I have flown three round trip flights and have returned healthy. 

I could run across the freeway three times, dodging cars, and survive each time, but that still wouldn't make it a good idea. And that's only a part of the factors that should influence your decision to fly--if you were unknowingly infected, you would be exposing hundreds of others to infection.

But (sigh) that's why we're not controlling this pandemic. Everyone wants to do what they want to do, regardless of the risk to themselves and others. Me me me me me. Not far from where I live, an entire high school had to shut down because 19 teenage morons had themselves a partaaaaay and nine of them tested positive a few days later. How many people did they infect? But I guess that's OK, because, y'know, freedumb.

I'm sure that Southwest is going to fill middle seats not because they've suddenly determined it's safe, but rather, to meet holiday demand. We should ALL stay home on Turkey Day and Xmas, but as Fauci warned, we're not going to be responsible about that, and we'll have huge spikes in infections.

So yes, I feel that traveling right now is pretty damn foolish.

Kevin, I don't think I'm on your bad side, and I try to be open to other's opinions so I would like to hear why you are opposed to non-assigned seating. Or do you fly Southwest in a pinch, but you prefer other airlines because of assigned seating?

I tend to fly Southwest, simply because I live near several Southwest hub cities. It's usually the cheapest alternative as well.

It's pretty obvious, and has been shown in numerous studies, that the optimal (i.e., quickest) boarding strategy is (assuming passengers board from the front of the plane) for those who are going to sit in back to board first. That's true whether seats are pre-assigned or not. In the absence of assigned seats, they could just say "open seating, Rows 20-30" or some such.

Unfortunately, very few airlines do that. They hand out the privilege of boarding first to those who have paid for first-class or otherwise more expensive seats. This means that a clog is automatically formed at the front of the plane. When Southwest lets the front rows board first, the same thing happens. There's always someone in Row 2 who takes off his coat, wrestles his piano and a crate of live chickens into an overhead bin, texts his wife, adjusts his underwear, and then and only then sits down. If those histrionics were taking place in Row 29, everybody else could board in the meantime. And if Mister Piano Chicken boarded last, everyone else would already have boarded and been seated.

As to why I am opposed to non-assigned seating, people tend to pause and mull over their seat choice, and that takes several seconds--now multiply that by 100 or so souls boarding the plane. They also tend to take longer to stash their crap in the overhead bins when the one they should use isn't delineated. That creates offboarding problems when a passenger has to "retreat" to the back of the plane to fetch his bag.

Given that people are sheep, except for having not quite that much intellect, just telling them "go there, this is your overhead bin, sit down, shut up" is much better than having them stop and think. And as I pointed out, getting people to the back of the plane as quickly as possible speeds up the process. 

I hasten to add that IMHO, Southwest does almost everything else right, including no bag fees and the ability to change your reservation at no charge. I'm not going to be flying anywhere for several more months at least, but Southwest will probably be my first choice when I do. NO ONE should be flying ANYWHERE now, though.

The charter flights (assigned seats) seat customers from the back forward.  The exception is the exit row which is seated first, then the back forty, then the middle, then "all others" which generally means the front dozen rows.  I always wait to enter last regardless of seat assignment.  Less waiting and gnashing of teeth.

Many years ago I wrote to American Airlines to suggest they first board those passengers NOT toting carry-on luggage.  I never received a reply, not even "We always appreciate customer input."  I'm sure my letter hit the round file quickly, perhaps with a "what a nut" or other unkind comment.  Of course I don't carry-on, so it made perfect sense to me.  Let us who do not hold up the others board first.  But apparently they don't see it.

A pair of vultures decided to fly south for the winter on United Airlines. One of them didn't like airline food, so he brought a dead goat with him to snack on. His friend said, "You're nuts, they'll never let you on board with that." The other replied, "Of course they will, you're allowed one piece of carrion."

Rim shot...............