Ever wonder why Southwest Airlines doesn’t have assigned seating? Simple: it’s faster:
Van den Briel says that while Southwest’s open seating might seem like an invitation for chaos, it actually illustrates a tendency among passengers to self-organize when left to their own devices. “Passengers who are free to sit anywhere usually do a good job staying out of each other’s way,” he explains. “Without having studied it in detail, I would imagine that an open boarding model is faster than assigned seating.”
It’s one of the few reasons Southwest ranks well in on-time efficiency.