In the early 1990's I was traveling a lot throughout the country by plane. One day I had a flight canceled and the airline offered to fly me to my destination with Southwest Airlines, I wanted to get where I wanted to go and I said sure and was given a ticket.
I got to the gate for my flight and it was a mob scene, there was no assigned seating and it was a free for all. There was no way I was getting on that plane, I went back to the agent and was somewhat irate and asked if she was trying to punish me or something. I was given another fight on a different airline and got to my destination.
Fast forward to last year and due to changes with airlines, Southwest came up again, they had changed their boarding process to a more orderly process, still no assigned seating, however it was obvious that getting an A number was key to getting a window or aisle seat, or even an exit row with more leg room. To get those coveted A numbers it was critical to be logged on to the system exactly 24 hours before the flight.
I enjoyed my flight, I was even served a free drink (non alcohol) and peanuts, which is a rarity, no fees and the vibe from the pilot and flight crew was really good. I enjoyed the experience and it really changed my perspective about them.
This year, I have flown Southwest quite often and as the year progressed I found the need to log onto to the system 24 hours before my flight a bit cumbersome. That contrast had me asking the universe, wouldn't it be nice to get an A number with more ease.
A month or so ago, I was drawn to a news report online that Southwest were now offering early boarding for a $10 fee each way. For me this was great, for $10 the system would automatically assign me an A number and I could check in anytime. What great ease this has turned out to be for me, some others don't like this fee, for me I love it! all this ease for $10.
The lessons in all of this are be open to changing views, perspectives as things are always changing, this is a universe that is not stagnant, there will always be change. Also use the contrast in any situation to ask for or get clear about what you want, anything is possible as this example shows.
