Southwest's Longtime Seating Policy Officially Ends Tuesday

In 2025, Southwest Airlines announced several major changes to its operating procedures, perhaps none bigger than the end of open seating. For decades, part of Southwest's popularity stemmed from allowing passengers to pick their own seats on a first-come, first-served basis.

Starting tomorrow, Tuesday, Jan. 27, Southwest will debut assigned seating, a change that might have employees excited but has upset some longtime customers.

Southwest's assigned seating process, explained

Instead of its old A/B/C method with all passengers lining up ahead of boarding, Southwest is moving to a numbered system, featuring two alternating lanes and a digital screen saying which groups are up.

Pre-boarding will be available for passengers who need assistance and active-duty military personnel. After that, the process will be as follows:

• Groups 1-2: A-List Preferred, Choice Extra fare, Extra Legroom seat purchase or upgrade (including A-List Members who upgrade at no additional cost to ELR seats within 48 hours prior to departure, when available)
• Groups 3-5: A-List and Choice Preferred fare, plus Rapid Rewards® Credit Cardmembers who did not receive an earlier boarding group will also board in Group 5
• Groups 6-8: Choice fare and Basic fare who did not receive an earlier boarding group

Customers can purchase priority boarding beginning 24 hours before a flight, provided slots are available.

You can find additional information on seating options here.

Assigned seating only one of Southwest's significant changes

Last May, the budget-friendly air carrier did away with its popular "Bags Fly Free" policy, much to the chagrin of travelers.

Southwest has also recently expanded its international flight offerings and summer West Coast flight schedule, in addition to the following initiatives.

• Announcing a new partnership with Philippine Airlines
• Naming Peet’s Coffee its official in-flight coffee partner
• Transitioning from its usual point-to-point flight model to the more traditional hub-and-spoke arrangement
• Adding free in-flight Wi-Fi for all premium rewards members
• Teaming up with Priceline to give travelers more booking options for trips
• Launching its in-house vacation service, Southwest Getaways
• Expanding its TSA PreCheck Touchless ID program to five new locations after trying it out in Denver.
• Bringing back digital bag checking

“Evolving is part of our ethos, and we have done so successfully time after time, there’s so much to look forward to,” Southwest CEO Bob Jordan said in a message to customers. “We’re excited, we’re focused, and we’re just so honored to have you join us on this transformational journey to an Even Better Southwest.”