Whitney Westerfield

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Whitney Westerfield boarded his Southwest flight from Tampa to Nashville on Thursday and went to his seat in Row 8. The overhead bins were full for several rows, forcing him and many other passengers to roam around the plane looking for spots as more people filed in.

“I have never had the absolute mess that was boarding and then deboarding last night,” the Kentucky attorney said in an interview. The business trip that started Monday was the first time he’d flown Southwest since the airline switched to standard seat assignments from its old free-for-all model in late January.

Whitney Westerfield

On both flights, he said, he told the flight crew: “Would you guys all please pass along to the big shots that we’d like the old way back?”

Under pressure to boost its bottom line, Southwest has been in transformation mode for more than a year. The airline announced the eventual end of open seating in 2024. Last year, it added fees for checked bags after holding on to its generous “bags fly free” policy long after other carriers had started raking in the bucks for luggage.

Some travelers have welcomed the introduction of a seat assignment and boarding system similar to other airlines. Southwest has said research showed more people would fly the carrier if it offered assigned seats. But many are in mourning for a company that once stood out but now blends in with crowd.

“We’re talking about one of the most beloved brands of all time, and they just completely nuked it over the course of the last 11 months,” said Kyle Potter, executive editor of the travel site Thrifty Traveler.