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Southwest Airlines on Thursday unveiled the first details of its plans to begin assigning seats, update its boarding process and add “premium” extra-legroom seats on its planes.
The airline released a first look at the changes in a statement ahead of an investor day. Southwest also assured customers it will continue following its longtime slogan of “bags fly free” even while undertaking the biggest changes to its business in the airline’s 50-plus-year history.
Southwest plans to begin assigned seating in the “second half” of next year, the airline said. The shift does away with its trademark open seating, where travelers can pick any seat they want after boarding a flight.
Southwest’s drastic changes come as the airline faces pressure from an activist investor, Elliott Investment Management. The hedge fund is calling for the ouster of CEO Bob Jordan and Southwest’s board in what it sees as needed changes to boost profits and the airline’s share price.
Southwest’s new system for assigned seats is similar to that of other airlines. Travelers who book the cheapest fares can choose a seat for an extra fee, or they will be automatically assigned a seat a day before their flight. People who buy more expensive tickets will be able to select a seat at booking for no extra charge.
Southwest Chief Operating Officer Andrew Watterson said families will still be able to sit together without an added charge.
The airline’s updated boarding process will eliminate a practice Southwest fliers are very familiar with: setting an alarm to check in 24 hours before their flight to get the best boarding number. The airline will keep its unique airport stanchions but assign boarding numbers, like A15 or B30, automatically beginning sometime late next year.
Travelers who buy the most expensive tickets or have status in Southwest’s loyalty program will get the first boarding positions. Other fliers will be assigned a number based on where they are sitting on the plane.
Ryan Green, an executive vice president for Southwest, said Thursday that the new boarding process will allow the airline to spread out customers so they have time to stow their carry-on luggage and sit down with minimal backups in the aisle.
“One of the challenges that we have today with open seating is customers who are getting on last, they’re looking for that middle seat, especially on full flights,” he said. “They go to the end [of the plane] and they turn around, and that creates customers bumping into each other and all that does is add time.”
New premium seats will feature up to five more inches of legroom and be located near the front of the cabin on Southwest’s planes. The seats will be available as an added benefit for its most frequent fliers, travelers who buy the full-fare “business select” tickets or, for a specific fee, everyone else.
Rollout of the new product will not occur until late next year. The Federal Aviation Administration must sign off on the new seats and layout before Southwest can begin installing them on its fleet of around 800 Boeing 737s.
Other changes, including the addition of Southwest’s first overnight “red-eye” flights, will become available over the course of 2025 and into 2026. The airline had signaled in July that it would end its open-seating policy but provided few details.
Southwest also announced Thursday that it will launch international airline partnerships, which will extend routes to Europe for the first time.
Starting next year, Icelandair will be Southwest’s first partner with connections between the two airlines’ flights at Baltimore-Washington International Marshall Airport. Travelers will initially only be able to book tickets for flights on both airlines via Icelandair, with sales on Southwest’s website coming later.
Nashville, a large Southwest base, could be a second connecting gateway with Icelandair, Green said. The Icelandic airline begins flights to the Music City from Reykjavík in May. Southwest plans to add a second international partner in 2025.
Ahmed Abdelghany, an associate dean in the David B. O’Maley College of Business at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida, does not expect Southwest’s seating changes to drive away travelers.
“Over the last 10 years or so, the perception of the traveler has changed,” he said. “They pay only for the travel and [understand] they have to pay for the bag, for the seat assignment. People have become very familiar with this new norm.”
Southwest said its decision to keep free bags was purely economic: More money would be lost than made by adding charges for checked bags.
That’s not the case at other airlines. In 2023, U.S. carriers brought in nearly $7.1 billion from checked bags alone, according to Bureau of Transportation Statistics data. American Airlines topped the list with $1.4 billion in revenue. By comparison, Southwest made about $73 million in baggage fees; the airline allows two checked bags free, then charges $125 for additional bags. There are also fees for oversize bags.
Southwest says its research shows that 80 percent of customers prefer assigned seats. The shift will take away what the airline describes as the “friction” of open seating, or that moment on a nearly full flight when travelers have to ask two strangers if a middle seat is taken to sit down.
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That’s the first good thing I’ve heard about Southwest in years, but it’s also probably an indicator that the airline is going to fail.
Just another money grab to make the hedge fund boys happy. Soon they’ll be charging for bags too.
Nashville and Baltimore. But IND remains an international flight outcast.
Southwest really screwed their loyal customers during Covid – I was A List Preferred for 10 Years – didn’t fly in 2021 and lost all of my status – SWA doesn’t care about their Loyal Customers – this new program is a $$$ grabbing scam.