For years, Southwest Airlines was unique from other airlines because of their open seating policy. Customers were assigned boarding groups according to the order they checked in (or their willingness to pay extra for it), then boarded based on their assigned group/number, like A29 or B13. Once boarded, flyers could sit wherever they wanted to. The open seating policy was originally implemented for efficiency that allowed for quick turnaround times.
After 55 years, Southwest’s open seating policy officially ended on Monday. Beginning on Tuesday, Jan. 27, the first round of passengers who bought assigned seats will board their planes. Southwest has also done an overhaul of their ticketing tiers, with a premium seating option that offers extra legroom, preferred seating for a seat in the front half of the plane, standard seating selections for the back half, and a basic level where you’re assigned a seat at check-in. Boarding will now be the same as it is for any other major airline.
“Southwest will broaden its consumer appeal and boost demand through an assigned seating model,” a press release at the time read. “Airline passengers now have a clear preference for seat assignments: 80 percent of Southwest Customers and 86 percent of passengers who choose other airlines want assigned seats.”
The announcement also noted that “Southwest flies farther than ever, and seat assignments are a higher priority on long-haul flights.”
The company began selling assigned seats in late 2025, but the first flights utilizing them are only taking off now.
Another change is that the airline will be offering Premium Seating, where passengers will have “extra legroom options with up to five additional inches of pitch for approximately a third of its seats.”
For years, passengers were able to board Southwest flights without an assigned seat ahead of time. Travelers would check in 24 hours ahead of the flight and be assigned a boarding position, which would determine when they would board and, as a result, choose their seat.
Travelers either loved or hated the policy, which left one aspect of flying up in the air.
Per Southwest’s website, the ability for passengers to be able to choose their seats will be “based on the fare you purchase, your Rapid Rewards tier status, and/or your Rapid Rewards Credit Cardmember status.”
The new tiers are: Choice Extra (where passengers can choose an Extra Legroom, Preferred, or Standard seat at booking if available), Choice Preferred (passengers can choose a Preferred or Standard seat at booking if available), Choice (passengers can choose their seat at booking), Basic (standard seat will be assigned at check-in), and Getaways by Southwest (passengers choose a standard seat after booking).
I’m not surprised that they made this change. I know most people hated not having the guarantee of sitting where they wanted to, and Southwest does not boast “affordable” prices that justify the risk. I never actually minded the open seating policy, especially if I was flying alone. The stress of making sure you checked in exactly 24 hours beforehand was annoying, though, and I will not miss that. I remember when it was even more of a complete free-for-all, before you got assigned numbers within the alphabetized boarding groups. That was always such a clusterf-ck.
Southwest is the only major airline to consistently fly in and out of the airport near my parents’ house, so I’ve flown them many times over the years. I have noticed a decrease in quality and experience over the last decade, which has led us to avoid them as much as possible. Ticket prices start high and never fluctuate. It’s barely affordable for one person to fly round-trip anymore, let alone a family of four. They don’t do cabin service on shorter flights, up until October, even Rapid Rewards members had to pay for wifi, and last year, they started charging for checked luggage. Honestly, I was much more upset about that than I am about the other stuff. “Bags Fly Free” was the best and pretty much only reason for my family to fly with them.
Photos credit: Jeffry Surianto on Pexels and via Instagram