New Seats on Southwest
Apr. 16th, 2026 12:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerOhio Waterfalls Travelog #2
37,000' over Arizona · Thu, 16 Apr 2026. 12:30pm
As I boarded our connecting flight in San Diego this morning two cool things happened. First, I got my favorite seat on Southwest Airlines, an exit row aisle, without worrying about being at the front of the boarding queue.
That's because Southwest switched to assigned seats a few months ago. I was skeptical about the change ahead of time. I've got to say the rollout is going much better than I expected. And— so far, with the benefit of elite status— I've been able to choose good seats at booking time every time.
This flight I relaxed in the boarding area— which at SAN is newly larger and modern thanks to a just-completed reservation— until Group 1 was called to board. Then I joined the end of the Group 1 queue. Yay, more time sitting, less time standing in line.
The second cool thing about this flight involves the seats themselves. You'll notice that light blue accent on the seats.... That's a new design I encountered for the first time today. And the redesign is more than cosmetic.
Low on the seat backs, where there's long been a webbed area that can hold small items like a little water bottle, there are now two little pockets perfectly sized to hold a cell phone. This is great for when you want to put your cellphone down but not in a pocket. Perhaps because you've got it on a charger. By being perfectly sized these pockets make it less likely you'll forget your cellphone when it falls to the bottom of that bigger pocket. I know, because I once forgot my laptop there! 😳
The other nifty thing is also for cellphones. It's a little shelf, above the tray table, for resting your cellphone. Ribs in the rubberized pad allow you to position your phone at different angles, and oriented vertically or horizontally, for watching vide while you fly. Yay, no more having to balance my phone in my hand while watching a movie!
37,000' over Arizona · Thu, 16 Apr 2026. 12:30pm
As I boarded our connecting flight in San Diego this morning two cool things happened. First, I got my favorite seat on Southwest Airlines, an exit row aisle, without worrying about being at the front of the boarding queue.
That's because Southwest switched to assigned seats a few months ago. I was skeptical about the change ahead of time. I've got to say the rollout is going much better than I expected. And— so far, with the benefit of elite status— I've been able to choose good seats at booking time every time.
This flight I relaxed in the boarding area— which at SAN is newly larger and modern thanks to a just-completed reservation— until Group 1 was called to board. Then I joined the end of the Group 1 queue. Yay, more time sitting, less time standing in line.
The second cool thing about this flight involves the seats themselves. You'll notice that light blue accent on the seats.... That's a new design I encountered for the first time today. And the redesign is more than cosmetic.
Low on the seat backs, where there's long been a webbed area that can hold small items like a little water bottle, there are now two little pockets perfectly sized to hold a cell phone. This is great for when you want to put your cellphone down but not in a pocket. Perhaps because you've got it on a charger. By being perfectly sized these pockets make it less likely you'll forget your cellphone when it falls to the bottom of that bigger pocket. I know, because I once forgot my laptop there! 😳
The other nifty thing is also for cellphones. It's a little shelf, above the tray table, for resting your cellphone. Ribs in the rubberized pad allow you to position your phone at different angles, and oriented vertically or horizontally, for watching vide while you fly. Yay, no more having to balance my phone in my hand while watching a movie!
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Date: 2026-04-16 08:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-04-17 03:02 am (UTC)