Allegiant Air drops open seating system
Allegiant Air's experiment with open seating ended Wednesday.
The Las Vegas-based airline's hybrid seat assignment policy gave passengers the option of buying a seat assignment ahead of time or showing up at the airport counter on the travel day for a generic boarding pass to get through security. After people with assigned seats boarded, the rest had to pick from what was left.
"We think this was confusing for both the customers and the employees," spokesman Brian Davis said. "It certainly slowed the boarding process."
The new procedure, part of a computer system upgrade, still allows passengers to buy the vacant seat of their choice. Within 24 hours of departure, however, passengers can check in online and receive a random assignment for free.
Before the carrier went to open seating in November 2010, passengers received a random assignment at the counter on the day of departure. But Allegiant executives thought too many people were choosing the free option, so they tried open seating to make assigned seats look more attractive.
Allegiant said it will also offer more options for parents who want to sit with their children.Contact reporter Tim O'Reiley at toreiley@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290.
