Originally Posted by
rickg523
This is the crux of the issue. Unlike other carriers, WN does not use seat assignment as an emblem of status. In fact, status itself is such a minimal consideration at WN, to denizens of the legacy carriers it must seem non existent.
For flyers committed to carriers that do engage in the rather Victorian stratification of customers, this is unsettling at best. If they are highly invested in identifying as an elite while flying, this may seem to be apostasy, attacking the every foundations of their preferred social order. That gets reflected in the (too) many threads about this subject.
For most people, if you don't like the way this particular airline operates, you just don't fly them. I don't like BA. I won't give my money to BA, even if they're the most conveniently scheduled. There's always another, to me more acceptable, choice.
And if you have to fly Southwest, it won't be more than 5 hours of your life, so just play along. When you buy the ticket understand in the eyes of WN you're no better than anyone else that purchased a ticket on their bus. That's right. Business suit, Briggs and Riley rollaboard, Tom Ford loafers buys you exactly the same as Ma Kettle. A seat on the plane, a little bag of pretzels, and a drink. Also 2 free checked bags, but that doesn't count because you ain't checking that B&R.
This reeks like the egalitarian kool aid WN promotes.
But the
FACT is that WN offers differential pricing and an elite program complete with incentives for frequent fliers or for people who pay more. It also offers a better boarding position to people without status, who are willing to buy EBCI.
A BS ticket costs two or three times what a WGA costs on the same flight. Someone who has A -list is incentivized to fly WN more frequently under the promise of a better place in boarding order, and therefore a better shot at a better seat than a WGA kettle
The stratification exists in plain sight...at the gate. Yes, in the cabin it is all the same, but the class and status dynamic is directed at the boarding line. People who crack the barrier under A16 ARE the elite status fliers and have every right to expect, based on $ and miles, to enjoy that status and the crumbs offered by it...one of which is a wider choice of seats and an earlier shot at the best seats.
It's in WN's interest to treat elites as elites because the revenue from those programs and add ons is where they actually see some margin.
The problem with seat saving is that it undermines those elites and the perks offered by WN. Allowing thru pax and even other elites to save seats is akin to a legacy airline allowing non-status pax to get available upgrades and leaving elites back in coach. The program needs protection, and WN doesn't seem to expend the resources to do so.