After 50 years of offering open seating, Southwest Airlines will switch to assigned seating in January 2026.
Starting in January, Southwest passengers will be boarded in eight separate groups, according to Quartz. This policy change is designed to stop passengers from trying to get on board before it’s their turn.
Passengers who fly in first class, which is another recent feature addition, will be in Group 1 or 2. Then passengers with a window seat will board, followed by those in middle seats and eventually aisle seats.
Aside for first class passengers, everybody else will board starting from the back first, meaning the passengers closet to the front will struggle the most with finding space for their carry-ons.
The only potential good news is that customers will be able to purchase “workarounds.”
“The Priority Boarding option will let you get on board the plane before even Groups 1 or 2,” Quartz notes. “Prices for that last-minute option will be dynamic and vary depending on the route.”
According to The Wall Street Journal, the new policy will most benefit “big spenders” who pay for premium seats and pricey add-ons. Conversely, it’ll most hurt budget flyers.
This may explain why the response to this news hasn’t been all that positive.
@SouthwestAir What makes you think this is a good idea?
Stop trying to be the Other Guys!!
— Dave (@OliOliOlson) July 25, 2024
Southwest Airlines has commercials showing people ecstatic that they are going to assigned seating, and literally everyone I know who flies Southwest hates that they are going to assigned seating.
— Prof. Mark Youngkin (@mayoungkin) October 16, 2025
@SouthwestAir your assigned seating sucks. Your loyal customers are no longer loyal. You and your new bag policy are no longer different. Your difference made you successful. Good luck. You will need it.
— Law Officer (@LawOfficer) October 14, 2025
Not looking forward to open seating on @SouthwestAir
I enjoyed choosing my seat and who NOT to sit next too.
Being forced to sit next to the avg SWA flyer is gonna make me sad. At least it’s better than Spirit Airlines.— TurnedOnMyBatSignalforHelp (@MediaknowJ) October 15, 2025
Honest question, does Southwest Airlines think they can gaslight everyone into believing assigned seats are an upgrade? They’re literally abandoning their compeititve advantage. Assigned seating just makes them another airline
— Kyle Simpson (@kds_1009) October 18, 2025
@SouthwestAir going to assigned seating and charging extra for good seats has to be the dumbest business decision I’ve ever seen. If SW is going to act like every other airline, frequent flyers like me are going to going to take literally any other airline.
— David Ford (@theehrnerd) October 12, 2025
News of Southwest’s new boarding procedure comes months after it became the last major airline to ditch free checked bags.
“Southwest Rapid Rewards A-List Preferred Members and Business Select fare passengers will continue to receive two free checked bags under its new policy,” The Herald News reported in May.
“Some other customers, including A-List Members, will receive one free checked bag, and Rapid Rewards Credit Cardmembers will receive a credit for one checked bag. All other travelers will have to pay for their first and second checked bags, with weight and size restrictions still in place,” the reporting continued.
A few months later in in August, the airline added a new policy stating basically that obese passengers who can’t fit in just one seat will have to pay for an extra seat.
“Currently, plus-size passengers can either pay for an extra seat in advance with the option of getting that money back later, or they can request a free extra seat at the airport,” CNN noted. “Under the carrier’s new policy, a refund is still possible but no longer guaranteed.”
Southwest Airlines is rolling out a new seating policy targeting obese passengers who take up more than one seat.
Under the change, they’ll now be required to purchase an extra ticket—and refunds may no longer be guaranteed.
Plus-size activists have long pushed back, arguing… pic.twitter.com/8qhmv4ss13
— Shadow of Ezra (@ShadowofEzra) August 23, 2025
Jason Vaughn, an Orlando-based travel agent who advises fat travelers with his Fat Travel Tested website, wasn’t happy about the change.
“I think it’s going to make the flying experience worse for everybody,” he told CNN, likening it to Cracker Barrel’s recent logo change. “They have no idea anymore who their customer is. They have no identity left.”
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V. Saxena is a staff writer for BizPac Review with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University.
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