Southwest: why no more “cattle calls”
More competitive rivals and high oil prices apparently were the major reasons Southwest finally changed its famous “cattle call” boarding, sources say.
The company this week is rolling out a new boarding process nationwide that assigns each passenger a number indicating when they can get on the plane, sparing customers the need to line up before the flight in an effort to get the best seat.
“No more cattle calls,” said Chief Executive Officer Gary Kelly.
In what some newspapers called an attempt to reach out to the “Gucci loafer and Hermes tie crowd,” Southwest will also start giving preferential treatment to customers who pay more for their tickets.
In the next few months, the airline will also be upgrading Spartan waiting areas at its gates with plush leather chairs with outlets for computers and recharging cell phones.
What’s next?
Southwest is aiming at flights to Mexico and the Caribbean.
What’s behind the changes?
Many of Southwest’s competitors have gone through bankruptcy, allowing them to cut labor costs and shed unprofitable gate and plane leases. The result is that the airline’s cost advantage over rivals has shrunk, and its pilots and flight attendants are now the highest paid in the industry, reports Business Week.
The rising price of fuel, which shows no signs of changing, also played a part.
“This time I don’t think anyone expects prices to come down. It radically changes the way you look at things,” said co-founder and chairman Herbert Kelleher.
Report by David Wilkening
David
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