Southwest Airlines To Eliminate ‘Cattle Call’

DALLAS, TX.(AP) – Say goodbye to the Southwest Airlines “cattle call.”

The Dallas-based airline says it is making changes to its longtime open seating policy to assign a specific pecking order to travelers waiting to board their Boeing 737 jets. Starting in early November, Southwest customers will be assigned a letter-number combination on their boarding passes, which will reserve their spot in their boarding group.

According to a Southwest statement, when a Southwest gate agent calls a boarding group, passengers will take their place in their numerical order. Southwest has tested the new boarding system since last month at San Antonio International Airport after it quit a flirtation last summer with assigned seating in San Diego.

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