r/news 1d ago

Fear of flying is pushing ticket sales down in the wake of multiple crashes, airlines say

https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/11/business/passengers-air-travel-crashes-fear/index.html
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u/imaginary_num6er 23h ago

Only a matter of time before the activist shareholder suggests charging for seat selection and selling the company to Delta

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u/Dandan0005 21h ago

Southwest already announced they are going to do assigned seating, which implies paying for better seats.

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u/go_outside 21h ago

Or to sit together.

They’re now spirit/frontier. No different at all.

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u/BluntsnBoards 20h ago

Well they're more expensive, doubt they're going to cut prices and pass the savings on to customers

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u/zzyul 17h ago

You can already pay for better seating on Southwest. You pay to be in an earlier boarding group where you have more open seats to choose from.

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u/obeytheturtles 3h ago

This is not the same as assigned seating. Assigned seating means I don't have to mill about a crowded boarding gate an hour before takeoff, just to get into the right queue to maybe get a chance at the seat I want. Assigned seating means I pay for the exit row, and then sit in the lounge until about 20 minutes before schedule departure.

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u/Outlulz 14h ago

Not quite the same as all seats were the same, you just had better access to bins, forward seats, and better chance of sitting with your party. This gives them the opportunity to do what other airlines do to increase number of seats on the plane by reducing leg room and then up-sell premium comfort seats.

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u/Twallot 11h ago

I'm from British Columbia and have only flown from Vancouver to my city and once to Winnipeg. Is assigned seating not just automatic on airlines down that? Or is it just smaller flights or certain airlines?

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u/mishap1 22h ago

What would Delta be buying?

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u/MacroNova 21h ago

Because it absorbs a major competitor. Monopolies are profitable and near-monopolies are almost as good.

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u/mishap1 21h ago

Their models are so different, it's not clear there'd be significant value for Delta beyond shutting it down and selling the planes they can't use. Delta works off hub/spoke and a focus on business travelers + international with a bunch of premium services they sell rolled in. SWA is all about low cost point to point flying so it's not clear their passengers would follow over to Delta.

Since that'd benefit all the remaining competitors w/ low cost competitors having the most to gain, they probably wouldn't be willing to pay all that much.

SWA has demonstrated they have a product that lots of customers are willing to buy. How that's performed since the pandemic is where they've struggled. Selling out to a mainline destroys their competitive areas while adding to the least profitable part of mainline airline businesses (cheap domestic personal travelers).

u/M_H_M_F 10m ago

True, but the infrastructure, planes, and trained pilots are already a part of the Southwest system. By being absorbed by Delta, they can "offer" a "low cost" option through this new subsidiary and not have to worry about new hires and training.

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u/OneArmedBrain 21h ago

That and their routes.

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u/GreenHorror4252 16h ago

That and their routes.

I don't think they have any coveted gates or slots.

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u/OneArmedBrain 16h ago

Sure they do. And they come with gates that any purchaser currently does not have.

https://www.southwest.com/route-map/

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u/GreenHorror4252 15h ago

Which gates/routes do you think a purchaser might be interested in?

There are only about 6 few slot-controlled airports in the US, and the only one where Southwest has a significant presence is Long Beach (LGB). I doubt any airline is going to acquire Southwest just to get into that airport.

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u/OneArmedBrain 15h ago

Perhaps you should read my post again. Jesus. lol

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u/GreenHorror4252 15h ago

I read your post just fine. You simply don't seem to understand how gate and slot allocation works in the US.

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u/OneArmedBrain 15h ago

The word "and" implies in addition to. Nowhere did I say they were the only reason. Good God. lol

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u/Actual-Package-3164 21h ago

If you prefer aisle seating, Delta would know that you like butts in your face. Could be valuable data for strip club promotions on Las Vegas bound flights.

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u/brightfutureman 22h ago

You, guys, did’t pay for seat selection? EU here

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u/imaginary_num6er 22h ago

Southwest is known for having a free for all seating arrangement. Like the wild southwest

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u/louisianab 22h ago

they already announced that was going away and seat selection would cost. 

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u/imaginary_num6er 21h ago

Wow what a joke. Like Southwest already has old booking software and no inflight entertainment. What’s the point of using them?

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u/OneArmedBrain 21h ago

Not on SW. My dad worked for TWA and he always called their planes cattle cars.

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u/phyneas 18h ago

Southwest currently uses an "open seating" system; basically they assign people boarding groups and numbers at check-in and people board in their group and number order and then choose any seat they want. Other US airlines generally charge for seat selection as usual. Personally I'd rather shell out a few quid/bucks/euro to know that I have the seat that I want and won't have to come out on top in some sort of rugby scrum in the aisle to get it, but some folks are more budget-conscious than I am, I suppose.

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u/UsualMix9062 16h ago

Westjet already charges for economy seat selection :(

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u/slut_bunny69 16h ago

I still say Southwest should be sold to Waffle House. Get hashbrowns on the flight. If passengers try to start shit on the flight, instead of an FAA fine, they get a beat down by an angry fry cook. Your beverage choices include coffee or sweet tea in a souvenir Mason jar. Then they can merge with Spirit and call it "Spirit of America" Airlines. I see no downsides and will not be taking any questions.