Southwest may stick with cattle-call seating

Josh Roberts believes the best trips involve long hikes and muddy boots. His life goals haven't changed much since he was a kid: He still wants to be Indiana Jones when he grows up.

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Josh joined SmarterTravel in 2001, and is an active member in both the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) and the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI).

In addition to SmarterTravel, he has written for USA Today, The Boston Globe, Yahoo! Travel, The Huffington Post, Airfarewatchdog, TripAdvisor, Jetsetter, ABC News, Oyster, and Business Insider. His travel photography can be seen in Britain and Ireland's Best Wild Places, published by Penguin UK.

The Handy Item I Always Pack: "A lacrosse ball. It's small, lightweight, and works wonders on loosening up tight muscles."

Ultimate Bucket List Experience: "Being the first to discover an ancient lost city. Failing that, visiting as many of the already-discovered ancient ruins as possible."

Travel Motto: "Not all those who wander are lost." -J.R.R. Tolkien

Aisle, Window, or Middle Seat: "Aisle."

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Keep those cattle prods handy, folks. Low-cost king Southwest has yet to determine if it will abandon its first-come, first-served boarding approach and begin offering assigned seats, reports the Baltimore Sun (free registration required). The newspaper says that the airline will not make a decision until at least 2007.

You’ll recall that earlier this year Southwest created quite the stir by announcing it would test assigned seats. The experiment yielded mixed results according to Southwest CEO Gary Kelly. “Some boarding methods were a little faster, most were a little slower,” he told reporters last week.

The airline now plans to conduct more research, including customer surveys, before it proceeds.

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