Southwest looks to improve boarding areas

By now, you've probably heard about

Southwest's new boarding procedure

, which aims to cut down on competitive line-standing while preserving open seating onboard. But that's not the only big change: Now that people will be spending less time standing in long A, B, or C boarding lines and more time sitting before departure, Southwest is making an effort to improve its boarding areas.

You can find images and all the details on

Southwest's blog

. Here's a brief rundown of the improvements scheduled for all Southwest boarding areas in the first half of 2008:

• More comfortable seats
• Power stations with outlets and USB ports
• Family areas with kid-sized tables and chairs
• Family-friendly TV programs
• Television monitors to indicate boarding groups
  
  
  
  I love imagining the conversation that spawned these ideas. The one someone kicked off by wondering, "So … what
  
  are
  
  passengers going to do if they're not standing in line anymore?" And this list of improvements, while not particularly revolutionary, will go far toward making the brand-new Southwest pre-boarding experience more pleasant.