In this articleLUVFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNTOVER THE PACIFIC OCEAN — The 112 passengers on this Southwest Airlines red-eye flight from Honolulu to Los Angeles were the last in the airline’s more than 54-year history to scramble for a seat on board.Before dawn on Tuesday, Southwest ended its quirky (or anxiety-inducing, depending on the traveler) open-seating policy in favor of assigned seats for all customers as the carrier that prided itself on marching to its own drum becomes more like its rivals, under pressure to increase revenue.The change means that all Southwest passengers will know exactly where they will be sitting before they board, and some of them will pay more than $70 per leg to have a new, roomy spot up front. Prices vary.CNBC flew on the last open-seating flight and hopped on one of the first with seat assignments to talk to passengers and crew about how they felt about the change. Their feelings were mixed.”It’s overdue, honestly,” said Lisa Tate, 33, a teacher from Honolulu, who was traveling to Atlanta via Las Vegas on Monday. “I like the reassurance that I can sit with my loved ones. It makes the situation less stressful.” Vicki Economou, a 68-year-old based in Houston, who is in the process of retiring from running a family restaurant, felt otherwise. “Now they’re like everybody else, and nothing is setting them apart,” she said.Economou said she might consider flying other airlines after years of Southwest loyalty because she doesn’t want to pay for seats.”I’m not real happy about it,” she said. “I think that there are people that are getting money hungry.”Read more about Southwest’s changesSouthwest to get rid of open seating, offer extra legroom in biggest shift in its historyHow much are Southwest’s new assigned seats? It dependsGoodbye to ‘bags fly free’ on Southwest Airlines, the last freebie in AmericaSouthwest Airlines will start charging $35 for a checked bag Southwest sets a date for seat assignment launch, lays out new boarding order’If you can’t beat them, join them’Several Southwest flight attendants in Los Angeles said they were relieved about the change. One told CNBC that she is so happy she wants to cry because having customers roam up and down the aisle looking for a seat was stressful for crew members.Other airline employees greeted the last open-seating passengers with applause though, serving them coffee and handing out commemorative bag tags and other souvenirs.Southwest has been training employees for months, including by suggesting clear announcements that remind customers, especially in the early stages of assigned seating, how boarding will work.CNBC heard some of the first eight-group boarding calls moments after landing at Los Angeles. Gate agents reminded customers several times that seats were assigned and told them where on their boarding passes they could find that information. Customers lined up next to the posts that used to designate the boarding groups just hours before, though the numbers were no longer there.Digital boarding screens showing two lanes are already installed and will replace the metal stanchions at airports to instruct travelers when they can get on according to the new boardin …
