Hailed by some as egalitarian but decried by others as a cattle call, the open boarding process at Southwest Airlines is on the way out. The Dallas-based carrier on Thursday said that it will soon offer assigned seats for the first time systemwide in its 53-year history.In a barrage of corporate jargon, Southwest called the change a “product evolution,” one of many “transformational commercial initiatives” aimed at “driving shareholder value” and improving “operational efficiency.” The bottom line? The airline decided it can make more money with assigned seats than without.For many customers, open seating was the last notable difference between Southwest and its competitors, including crosstown rival American Airlines and longtime competitor United Airlines. Southwest has come to resemble those competitors by flying bigger planes,…
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