Travel Gripe

So I'm back in Maryland to visit my dad for his birthday, and as I was flying from L.A. to Baltimore yesterday, I have this to say to people flying Southwest Airlines: KNOW THE FRICKIN' SYSTEM!

Southwest doesn't offer assigned seating like most other airlines - it's open seating based on the time you check in. So if you check in exactly 24 hours before your flight, you get a better choice of seating than someone who, say, checked in at the airport. And it shouldn't be a surprise to anyone flying Southwest; they've always had open seating.

I checked in on-line two days ago and got one of the up-front "A" boarding groups, like I have almost every single time I've flown Southwest, which means I got one of the emergency exit-row aisle seats that have the extra legroom. The flight went from LAX to Las Vegas, but I didn't have to change planes, so I just kept my same seat. The flight from Vegas to Baltimore was jam-packed and here's where I have my gripe. If you're a COS (Customer of Size - Southwest's PC way of saying "fat"), or generally large or tall passenger, check in early so you can get an aisle or window seat. All the COS and big passengers, including the high school basketball team that was on the flight, were the last ones boarding, meaning they were all stuck into the middle seats, forcing the window and aisle passengers (like me) to do the lean-to, because they were spilling out of their seats into the other two.

It's not Southwest's fault at all - they're right upfront about how they do business. But if you know you have a hard time fitting into a middle seat, check in early and give yourself a better chance at an aisle or window seat. If I was that 6'10" high school basketball player who got stuck in a middle seat, I'd have questioned the coach or traveling secretary who got such crappy boarding times.

Know the system, people, and you'll do yourself and the rest of us a big favor.