The End of the Southwest Cattle Call

The Houston Chronicle reports that Southwest Airlines execs are upgrading the airline’s reservations system which may, for the first time, make assigned seating possible aboard the bargain airline.

One major concern is how it will affect the airline’s load times. As we all know, airplanes only make money when they’re in the air, which is why airlines try to keep the turnaround time between landing and departure as short as humanly possible. As we blogged just a few weeks ago, Southwest has some of the fastest boarding times in the industry because of its first-come, first-serve approach. To keep their turnaround times low, they would likely need to employ one of several strategic models already in use by other major airlines.

Via TravelOrbis.