For those of us who have grown to love Southwest Airline’s first-come/first-serve open seating ways, things almost turned ugly today. Southwest had been considering doing away with open seating in favor of a more traditional seating policy.

I have to admit, I was a little bummed when I heard things might go the other way, but my fellow Standard Uprighter, Anne, told me she was always annoyed by how you had to sit on the floor and stake your claim if you wanted a decent seat (even if you were in Group A or B). Well, Southwest has found a solution that pleases us both. They are maintaining an open seating policy, but there’s no more sitting on the ground or slyly using your laptop to hold your place in line . The Group structure is still in place, but now you will get a number (a place in line, if you will) to go along with it:

Starting in early November, customers of Southwest Airlines Co. will be assigned a letter-number combination on their boarding passes, which will reserve their spot in their boarding group. According to a Southwest statement, ‘when a gate agent calls a boarding group, passengers will take their place in their numerical order.’ (From MSNBC)

Part of me will miss the “free-for-all” that was boarding a Southwest plane in the past, but this seems like a move that will keep both SW die-hards and airline traditionalists happy…at least for a little while anyway.