Five-minute analyst: picking airline seats

Abstract

This is the November/December edition of Analytics Magazine, and that means many of us will be traveling with families--either our own for visiting distant relatives or traveling alone for business sprinkled amongst the family gatherings. On many carriers you get a ticket and go to your assigned seat, and you know when you buy your ticket what seat you will have and you have no way to influence who your neighbors are, This is different than other carriers, such as Southwest, where you line up in ticket rank order and sit wherever you like.