More than 10 months after Southwest did the unthinkable and announced it would end its uber-popular “Bags Fly Free” policy, another hallmark of flying Southwest is about to fade away. This one might not be quite so controversial.
Effective Tuesday, Jan. 27, Southwest is officially ending its divisive first-come, first-served seating model and will instead begin assigning seats on all flights. The groundwork for that change was laid way back in summer 2024, but the day is finally here.
It may end confusion about boarding positions – “Is B45 my seat? Are there 45 rows on this plane?” was a common issue for first-time Southwest flyers. And some travelers, surely, will cheer the end of the cattle call to get on board to pick the best of whatever seats were still open.
But it's just the latest chapter in Southwest's painful transformation from a beloved, customer-friendly brand to … well, just another airline, charging fees for bags and, soon, seats.
The last flight with Southwest's open seating policy will be flight WN1791, an overnight red-eye from Honolulu (HNL) to Los Angeles (LAX). Airline Geeks' founder Ryan Ewing noticed that flight will be operated on Southwest's “Desert Gold” retro livery, a plane dedicated to the airline's late founder, Herb Kelleher. It takes off from Honolulu (HNL) at 9:55 p.m. tonight Hawaii time and will land in a new era for Southwest Tuesday morning in California.
Within the span of just a few months, the airline once beloved by both travelers and Wall Street for its consumer-friendly policies and profitability has begun charging for bags; killed off “Wanna Get Away” fares and replaced them with stingy basic economy tickets; revamped its Rapid Rewards loyalty program and raised annual fees on its credit cards; expanded to sell its fares on Google Flights and later, Kayak and Expedia; nixing its polarizing open-seating model in order to start charging for seat assignments instead; and eventually even installing extra legroom seats across its fleet.
While executives have insisted that their customers aren't heading for the exits, our survey this spring found roughly two-thirds of frequent Southwest flyers planned to book flights on other carriers as a result of charging for bags and other painful policy changes.
Starting Tuesday, all passengers will be assigned a seat on Southwest flights. If you book Choice, Choice Preferred, or Choice Extra fares, you get to select your either Standard, Preferred, or Extra Legroom seats at booking. For Basic fares, you are assigned a seat at check-in 24 hours before your flight.
Out: Boarding position. In: Seat maps. What a world!
The process of selecting a seat is just like any other airline now and available at booking or anytime before your flight. For instance, I was able to select “Preferred” seats thanks to a Choice Preferred fare booking for an upcoming flight to Colorado.
Bottom Line
Southwest's open seating policy comes to an end tonight, with a new era of assigned seating starting this Tuesday, Jan. 27.
Love it or hate it, Southwest's first-come, first-served seating model has been a hallmark of the airline's approach to doing things differently. But Southwest is transforming to look, act, and charge passengers a lot more like every other airline.
