Originally Posted by
normalone
This makes no sense. Why would I as a COS purchase a second seat in advance if I knew they wouldn't charge me if I just showed up at the airport? Yes, I almost always get a refund but it means giving Southwest a "loan" of a lot of money for however long in advance I purchase my ticket (so for me they often have a lot of my money tied up as I have many many tickets purchased at any one time).
Maybe it helps SWA not overselling the flight at the last minute because a COS didn't purchase the extra seat.
If that extra was not purchased ahead of time, SWA would have not known if that second seat is going to be occupy by a COS and would then have to bump someone off accomodate the COS.
And as a courtesty, the COS SHOULD buy two seats when making reservation because I would probably be the one that gets bumped off a flight to accommodate the COS with TWO seats.