Southwest Airlines is reportedly planning to allow families with children to board first as part of a trial program in Atlanta.

Priority boarding for families

Last week, Dallas-based Southwest Airlines announced a trial in which it would use data science at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport to analyze and improve the boarding process. Currently, the airline's turnaround times are longer than the ideal time.

As part of the trial, the airline will allow families with children to board before other passengers to shorten the boarding process. Southwest has a multiphase plan to improve family boarding, including designated spaces at gate areas where families can gather to preboard. The airline will test multiple kinds of spaces throughout the trial program.

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Southwest is the only American carrier that does not assign seats to its passengers, and boarding is done in order of check-in. Currently, Southwest allows families with children to board after group A and before group B. Parents will surely have high hopes for this trial program to be successful, leading to early boarding as a permanent offering from Southwest.

No assigned seating

Southwest does not assign seats to its passengers, not even at check-in time. The way check-in is done at Southwest is through boarding numbers. Passengers can check in for Southwest flights on the airline's app or online 24 hours before travel. When passengers check-in, the airline gives each one a boarding number which correlates to the boarding process at the gate area.

The all-737 airline has three boarding groups, A, B, and C. Each group is numbered 01-60. With Southwest, certain passengers with A-List or A-list Preferred status are automatically given boarding positions A 01-15. Southwest also offers early-bird check-in for its flights for an additional charge. Early-bird check-in automatically checks passengers in before the 24-hour window and is a fantastic option for passengers who do not want to end up in the middle seats.

Recent Southwest Airlines news

Yesterday, Southwest became the first American carrier to announce the resumption of dividend payments to shareholders. Despite challenging financial conditions, Southwest Airlines had a great 2022. In Q3, the airline posted a record $6.2 billion operating revenue, and CEO Bob Jordan expressed a positive outlook through the end of the year.

After the close of Q4, Southwest will reinstate its quarterly cash dividend, currently valued at $0.18 per share, equivalent to pre-pandemic, and amounts to a $428 million annual yield. CEO Bob Jordan said,

"As we bring the year to a close, our fourth quarter 2022 outlook remains strong, and we have a solid plan for 2023. The reinstatement of our quarterly dividend also reflects our balance sheet strength and continued focus on generating consistently healthy earnings, margins, and long-term capital returns.”

Upon market close, the dividend will be paid out on January 31, 2023. The airline has a positive outlook for the new year, already increasing its Q1 schedule by 10%. Southwest's Q2 expansion remains unclear as the airline is facing delays with Boeing 737 MAX aircraft deliveries.