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June 21, 2006
Southwest's open-door experiment
Next month, Southwest will test assigned seating.
Depending on your perspective, it's either a great idea or a terrible one. The company gets earfuls of opinions from customers on both sides of that aisle.
The experiment will occur on some 200 flights departing San Diego. The company's primary measures will be improved/worsened boarding times, and how many customers love it vs. hate it. Experimenting with a practice that's been in place for 35 years can be risky, but not testing long-held assumptions can be worse.
Obliviousness to industry research and the larger signals of a shifting competitive environment have spelled the doom of many a storied company (railroads, buggy whip manufacturers, disk drive makers, etc.) Research from Arizona State University professor Rene Villalobos for America West found that a reverse-pyramid method, a back-to-front, outside-in system that boards passengers with window seats first, then middle seats, then aisle seats, improves boarding efficiency. US Air is using the system and has had a 21 percent reduction in departure delays.
Customer buzz will spread quickly about the Southwest test, and CEO Gary Kelly is openly talking about it on the company blog. Super-smart move. However the test turns out, they'll have plenty of customer opinions for a marketing campaign to sell the new approach or keep the old one.
At least no one can say the company didn't try.
Other blogs that reference Southwest's open-door experiment:
» Testing Long-Held Assumptions from Strategy Central
So you've been running your organization a certain way successfully for a long time but you're wondering whether tweaking a single element might make a difference in your performance. Do you dare test your assumption? Or do you play it [Read More]
Testing something new is always a risk. But so is standing pat. I applaud Southwest for conducting a limited test and being wide open to customers' criticism. However it turns out, they'll certainly learn (or reconfirm) something that can help them serve their customers better.
leave it the way it is...business travelers complain. But, being one, I care about two things...on time flights and price!
But did you pick up on the paragraph about "cost pressures" and "additional revenue"? LUV should have just come clean and said they need to do this to keep fares low - the core of the Southwest brand. It's pretty clear that if the test saves money, the policy will be implemented and passengers will be forced to adapt (see the boarding cards precedent). Communicating intentions clearly would show and gain more customer respect, both short- and long-term.
One article I read yesterday said that Southwest no longer can hit its famed 20-minute turnaround, due primarily to higher-capacity 737s and its entry into bigger, more congested airports. So it would make sense that shaving several minutes off each boarding process could add up in the aggregate.
And you're absolutely right, Peter, that SWA would do well to be totally honest about all of its hoped-for outcomes (including cost-savings or improved revenues). They have a well-regarded history for that, and its customers can handle the truth.
