Southwest will try assigned seating

A news story we forgot to pick up earlier this week: Southwest Airlines will begin testing an assigned-seating reservation system next month. The test, which will involve about 200 flights out of San Diego, will begin July 10 and last for several weeks. The purpose:

The airline wants to know if assigning seats will slow Southwest's ability to unload incoming planes and board passengers for the next flight. It takes Southwest about 25 minutes on average to turn a plane around. Any delay can add to the airline's costs.

Gee, you think it'll slow things down? As much as we've griped about the "cattle call" boarding system Southwest is known for, it really is fast — mainly because everyone tries to shove their way onto the plane so they don't get stuck in the center seat between two enormous, smelly passengers. (Instead, of course, they end up in a marginally better position between an enormous, smelly passenger and the wall. But you have to find the sunshine in every situation.) It's not clear whether this has anything to do with Southwest's crusade against online services that help passengers secure "A" boarding passes so they can board their flights first.

Even if Southwest decides to go with an assignment system, CEO Gary Kelly has said open seating won't be eliminated until 2007 at the earliest.