Southwest Airlines changes boarding plan

WASHINGTON -- Southwest Airlines, reaching out to business fliers, will change boarding procedures to reduce the time passengers wait in lines while keeping its policy of not assigning seats.

An end to so-called open seating would slow planes' loading and wasn't preferred by travelers, Southwest said Thursday. The airline, the only major U.S. carrier that doesn't link fliers to seats, will begin boarding by numerical order in November.

Cutting the time passengers spend in line is part of a push to lure more business travelers, who generally buy tickets just before travel and pay higher fares as a result. Dallas-based Southwest is struggling to blunt rising fuel and labor costs.

The boarding changes still may not be enough to win corporate fliers, said consultant Robert Mann of R.W. Mann & Co. in Port Washington, N.Y. "Business travelers want to arrive late and get the seat they want," he said. "The only way you can do that is to allow them to select in advance."

Under Southwest's new system, travelers will continue to be assigned to one of three boarding groups based on their check-in time, and they'll also get a number within their groups so they board in numerical order and then choose seats.

Southwest also said it would change its boarding policy Oct. 2 to stop letting people with small children board first. The switch also will reduce the time needed to load the aircraft, Southwest said.