So I am boarding. The FA announces over the intercom that there are only middle seats left. Abut eight rows back, a teenager is sitting in a window seat with two backpacks over the middle and aisle seat. I ask, "is this seat taken?" and the girl says "I'm saving it for my parents"

I see a FA standing by the Exit row and I ask her "Does Southwest allow seats to be saved?", and she starts rambling about how all the seats are good ones. I reply "You did not answer my question. It is a simple YES or NO. Does Southwest now allow seat saving?". She looks nervous and starts rambling again, but won't answer the question.

Now it gets interesting - about 6 people behind me, I hear a man's voice say "I am right here". I say " Southwest has open seating, I am taking this open aisle seat".

All of a sudden the guy behind me starts yelling at me. I calmly repeat that there'd is no seat saving on Southwest, and that he or his wife can sit in the middle seat and the other can sit somewhere else. He continues yelling qt me.

I then look at him and say "Hey if you REALLY want to sit together, go to the ticket counter and pay for A1-A15 boarding. If you don't do that, you get what you get. Too bad."

At that, all the murmuring around me stopped, as EVERYONE knew I was right. Finally the FA says "sir, I have an aisle seat in the exit row for you". I guess that a non-rev got out of her seat?

So I got a good seat in the end. But I just find it appalling that the FA does not adhere to their stated policies. Equally appalling when Southwest gives people an option to be able to sit together and they don't use it (yes it costs $$), but they think it is OK rant and yell at someone that calls them on their actions.

I would think that WN corporate would want to start demanding that FAs start enforcing policies that would drive incremental revenue to the airline as well as make the boarding process faster and fairer for everyone.