Flight Attendants Blast 'Out of Touch' Southwest Airlines After Recent Changes

Back in January, Southwest Airlines officially ended its longstanding open-seating policy, moving to an assigned seating model for the first time. The change came a few months after Southwest ditched another longstanding policy when it began charging for checked baggage.

While Southwest had months to prepare for any logistical challenges from the two major changes, things have not been going well for the airline, as the new policies have not been going smoothly.

Predictably, the flight attendants, who have largely been forced to bear the brunt of both the chaos and the backlash from customers, are not happy.

New Policies Cause Major Problems

Southwest Airlines officially implemented an assigned seating model on Jan. 27 of this year, ditching its longstanding open seating policy.

The most significant issue has been issues with overhead bin space and the boarding order.

Since passengers at the front of the plane could board as late as boarding group 5 in some cases, some passengers seated in the front of the plane boarded their flight only to find that the overhead bin space above their seat was already taken.

As a result, those passengers then have to go toward the back of the plane, place their carry-on in the overhead bin space, and then work against the crowd back through the aisle to their seats, creating what Gary Leff of View From the Wing called “far more chaotic than the other airlines.”

“So people would stop at their seat, see no bin space available, and have to head back in the aircraft to stow bags – only to return down the aisle to their seats. This was far more chaotic than other airlines,” Leff wrote.

This has all been exacerbated by Southwest’s decision to begin charging for checked bags back in May. Following that change, Southwest immediately began having problems with handling the surge in carry-on luggage, especially since its aircraf were not designed with enough overhead bin space.

While Southwest has been taking steps to fix these issues, it has had little impact on the issues the recent changes have created with the boarding process. As a result, Southwest has suggested that its flight attendants start the boarding process earlier to ensure planes take off on time.

Needless to say, that did not go over well with the flight attendants.

Flight Attendants Speak Out

Obviously, these recent changes have caused some major problems in the boarding process, and nobody feels it more than the flight attendants. And those flight attendants were not at all happy about Southwest's suggestion to simply start the boarding process earlier.

In a memo published on Saturday, the official TWU 556 union, which represents flight attendants at the carrier, blasted Southwest Airlines for the decision, telling its management to "read the room" and making it clear that they should not have to bear the burden of the airline's "poorly thought-out plans."

“Southwest Management needs to read the room—and read and respect our Contract,” the union slammed on Saturday, via PYOK. “Upper management is out of touch. Decisions are being made without facing the real-world implications or fully considering the strain and anxiety placed on you,” the memo added.

“They have diminished our flexibility, made our jobs harder, placed us once again directly in the line of fire with frustrated customers, and pitted workgroups against each other through poorly thought-out plans.”

The union made it clear that the flight attendants want Southwest Airlines to succeed, but not at the detriment of the flight attendants, with no respect being given to their contracts.

“We want Southwest to succeed, and we want our customers to have a great experience,” the union memo added. “But frustration continues to grow when policies are implemented without collaboration and without respect for our Contract.”