If I were the hiring manager, I would toss your resume in the circular file after seeing such a comment. Clearly you are trivializing the issue, and are unaware of the other dependencies in what you're proposing to code:

- Standby list clearing -- probably done on the back end (mainframe) so seats assignment algorithm there would need to be tweaked. How good is your COBOL?

- Kiosk tweaks -- they could block the blue seats for people checking in. But then if the back is full, people would have to check in and get a security card with no seat. UA does this, and it creates extra work for their gate agents since they have to clear the no seat assignment herd at the gate. I'm assuming CO wants to avoid this headache, as it is pretty bad on the customer experience (e.g., "What do you mean I don't have a seat? I paid for my ticket 3 weeks ago!). If they do move forward with this, they want to come up with a solution that would allow those seats to open up if the load factor exceeds a given amount. Or what if the Elite zone isn't really full on a particular flight (think leisure route). Do you really care if non-Elites go up there if it's empty? Would you split up a family to preserve the integrity of the Elite zone? UA does that, too, which causes customer frustration. Part of it is justified with UA, as the seats in the Elite zone have EconomyPlus (a better product), but it certainly looks odd when you have a flight from PVR with 8 Elites in the Elite zone, and the back of the plane packed to the gills. Imagine that scenario on CO -- "What do you mean, Row 8 is completely empty, why does my family have to sit in 17D, 18E, 22F, and 21C?" There's no physical difference between the rows on CO, so why not let them up there? So the elegant solution would need to have all sorts of thresholds implemented, based on load factor, Elite load factor, Elite placement, etc.

- Online checkin -- same issue as kiosk, but separate system, I would imagine, so separate coding.

- Agent training -- Agents would have to be informed of these procedures so they could properly field questions from customers about why they were stuck in the back when a front seat is open. Also, how strongly you communicate this to agents will impact the amount of discretion they have to resolve seating issues (similar to above issue).

So that's probably why CO Insider said they're fixing the standby seat allocation first. That will create no additional issues, but resolve maybe 70%-80% of the issue.


Anyhow, so, I take that back about tossing your resume in the trashcan. I would probably hire you, but then I'd work with the company to figure out the issues related to seating, then paint you a little box so you can code your piece or two. After all, that's what most developers who talk like that are good at.