Southwest will overhaul gate areas at 64 airports

Southwest Airlines passengers used to spend their time crowding near the gate so they could board as soon as possible in order to pick the best available seat. But with Southwest’s plan to begin a new ordered queue system for boarding in November -- where customers will line up based on a letter and number code on their boarding passes -- passengers won’t have to crowd the gate any more. So Southwest said it is renovating the gate areas at all 64 airports it serves, with new amenities for passengers waiting to board. The new facilities are already at San Antonio’s airport, and will open October 15 at Dallas Love Field, with all other airports to come on line by the first half of next year. The gate areas will have a separate family area with small tables and chairs for kids, child-friendly programming on a flat-screen TV, and power ports that are close to the ground for easy access by kids who want to charge up electronic devices. The rest of the gate area will offer new padded seats, tables with power outlets, power stations with stools, and flat screen TVs with news programming.