Why Southwest’s New Boarding Plan Changed So Quickly

For more than 50 years, the boarding process at Southwest Airlines was one of the most recognizable rituals in US aviation. Passengers checked in, received an A, B, or C boarding position, lined up at the gate, and then chose any open seat once onboard. It was unusual, sometimes stressful, and deeply tied to the low-cost carrier identity that Southwest had at the time. So in this video, we take a look at why Southwest Airlines had to quickly revise its brand-new boarding process, what went wrong after the launch of assigned seating, and why the fight for overhead bin space has suddenly become one of the airline’s biggest operational problems.