Southwest technology, boarding policies change behavior

Steve Marcus

A Southwest Airlines jet takes off from McCarran International Airport.

By Richard N. Velotta (contact)

Fri, Aug 27, 2010 (3 a.m.)

Southwest Airlines’ technological and policy switches have changed the way Las Vegas’ busiest air carrier boards its passengers at McCarran International Airport.

Who knew that those changes eventually would lead to new restaurant and retail offerings at the airport?

Southwest is an airline rarity, using open seating instead of issuing seat assignments. Loyal Southwest customers love the choose-when-you-arrive system, but critics demean the process as a “cattle call.” Regardless of the way you feel, it’s one of the things that sets Southwest apart from its brethren.

Before 9/11, in the days when people could go to the gate to greet arriving passengers or see them off, Southwest distributed plastic boarding cards at the gate.

In 2002, after many security measures were added, printed boarding passes were introduced and Southwest began retiring the plastic cards. The move modified behavior because passengers began arriving earlier to make sure they could get through the security procedures and get to the front of the boarding line.

Concessionaires in McCarran’s C gates didn’t reap the maximum potential of all that Southwest traffic because passengers were more concerned about getting to the gate and getting in line.

But in 2007, the airline acquired other technological advances and began assigning places in line in the order that people checked in. Because the check-in process begins 24 hours before flight time, passengers can log on to the airline’s website to get a boarding pass then.

Southwest distributes boarding passes in three waves with 60 passes in the A group, 60 in the B group and the rest in the C group, normally 18 seats.

If you’re in A, you’re pretty much assured of getting the type of seat you want — on the aisle, next to a window or in the front of the plane for a quicker exit. There’s less assurance of getting what you want by the middle of the B group, and overhead bin space becomes more of an issue the further you get into B.

A boarding pass with a C on it provides the fewest good options. Good-humored Southwest even makes a point of telling you that “C stands for center seat,” meaning you’re likely to be sitting between two people you don’t know.

Last year, Southwest decided to make some money on the rush to get boarding passes 24 hours ahead of flight time and introduced its “Early Bird” program. If you agree to pay an extra $10 per flight, Southwest will put a passenger closer to the front of the line by issuing lower numbers to those willing to pay more.

Last quarter, Southwest generated $23 million in Early Bird revenue. And its policy and technological update changed passenger behavior again.

Now that passengers were arriving at the airport knowing their places in line, they still find their way through security a little earlier, but they don’t have to hang around the gate standing in line since there’s an orderly lineup when it’s time to get on the plane. Because of that lull, passengers are wandering to the food and retail vendors again — so much so that some food outlets can’t keep up with demand.

Things will get even more interesting if Southwest begins using Boeing 737-800 jets, which could seat 175 passengers, 37 more than most of the planes it’s using.

A lot can happen between now and the potential arrival of Southwest’s first 800 series jets. Executives have said they would make a decision by December about the bigger planes, with delivery starting in 2012. Southwest would have to renegotiate its union agreement since the larger planes would need another flight attendant.

Assuming the plan goes forward, other things would have to happen. Would Southwest even fly the 800s here? The primary reason it’s looking at the planes is that it wants to maximize profits in markets with gate and departure restrictions — New York’s LaGuardia International Airport, for instance.

At LaGuardia, Southwest offers only eight round trips a day after acquiring takeoff and landing slots from defunct ATA. It’s a competitive market, and Southwest isn’t likely going to get more flights soon. The only way the airline can grow there is if it flies with greater capacity.

There are plenty of other similarly restricted destinations in Southwest’s system, and although most observers think the airline could regularly fill 175 seats on its Las Vegas-Reno runs, other markets could have a greater need for the bigger planes.

When Southwest confirmed its interest in the bigger jets, I talked to Clark County Aviation Director Randall Walker about what kind of logistical problems would be created at McCarran if the 800s came here.

Can the C gates accommodate the bigger jets? Yes, although there may be a couple of gates at which the 800s, which are 19 feet longer than the 700 series planes, may have to be moved carefully if they depart at the same time.

With the potential for 37 additional passengers at a gate, will McCarran add more seating? No, there isn’t enough room for more seats, so you’ll see more people sitting on the floor waiting for flights.

What about the crowded retail areas?

Walker said Southwest came to him with that concern, and the solution would be to convert one existing C gate into a new retail area. As many Southwest customers know, McCarran is doing some ramp work to upgrade the C gates. During that two-year upgrade, several Southwest flights will be departing from the less-busy B gates.

Years ago, that would have produced some logistical nightmares for passengers changing planes in Las Vegas because they would have had to exit the secure area in one set of gates and re-enter in another. With recently competed construction, a bridge was built between B and C gates so passengers don’t have to leave the secure area to change planes. Instead, it’s just a good hike for a passenger who has to do that.

Walker said the C-gate ramp revamp would include the installation of a grease pit for a new kitchen for a food outlet. It’s too early to tell what kind would go in, but Walker promised it would be different from what exists. There also would be new retail offerings, he said.

“We’re going to have to sit down with Host, our food purveyor, and come up with something different,” Walker said. “So it won’t be pizza; it won’t be burgers; it won’t be chicken. But we’ll get something different out there.”

Airband merger

Two fixed-wireless companies are merging, and the new management team says that should result in better communication products for its resort and convention customers in Las Vegas.

Airband Communications of Dallas and Sparkplug Communications of Scottsdale, Ariz., completed their merger Aug. 18. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The company will operate as Airband Communications, headquartered in Dallas, and former Sparkplug CEO Michael Ruley will head the company while former Airband CEO Tim Kinnear will serve as chief financial officer.

The company operates in 17 markets, including Las Vegas. Among its Southern Nevada customers are Wynn Resorts, Las Vegas Sands, Station Casinos, MGM Resorts International, Herbst Gaming and Smart City Networks, the contracted communications provider at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Ruley said Airband operates high-broadband wireless networks for the transmission of data and Voice-Over Internet Protocol. The company offers portable equipment to set up high-broadband networks that can handle large volumes of data transmission during special events and large conventions. Airband says it offers its wireless network as a less-expensive alternative to hard-wired networks provided by telephone and cable providers.

The merger will enable the company to receive $20 million in financing through equity investment and debt financing from two banks.

Allegiant to Quad Cities

Twice-weekly air service between Las Vegas and Moline, Ill., will be offered by Allegiant Air beginning in October.

Las Vegas-based Allegiant will operate flights to Quad City International Airport Thursdays and Sundays starting Oct. 14. The airline will use 150-passenger twin-engine MD-80 jets on the route.

“Las Vegas is our customers’ top requested destination,” Bruce Carter, Quad City International Airport’s aviation director, said in a release. “Allegiant’s convenient flights and affordable hotel and car rental packages are sure to be very popular with travelers from the Quad Cities and beyond.”

Flights will leave McCarran at 2:55 p.m., arriving in Moline at 8:05 p.m. The return flights will leave Moline at 8:45 p.m., arriving in Las Vegas at 10:10 p.m.

Allegiant is introducing the route with $45 one-way fares on some flights.

The airline has 171 flights a week to and from McCarran, and by market share of seat capacity, it is the fifth busiest carrier at the airport.

Richard N. Velotta covers tourism and gaming for In Business Las Vegas and its sister publication, the Las Vegas Sun. He can be reached at 259-4061 or at rick.velotta@lasvegassun.com.