Southwest Airlines begins new era with assigned seating

Southwest Officially Rolled Out Its Most Controversial Policy Change—What to Know

The airline ends its decades-long open seating model and updates its extra seat refund policy amid broader shifts.Interior of a Southwest airplane. Southwest AirlinesFor the first time in more than 50 years, travelers on Southwest Airlines will have assigned seats and customers of size who need additional space will have to purchase an extra seat in advance of their flight.The changes took effect today, Jan. 27, 2026, and ended two policies Sout…

Southwest Airlines begins new era with assigned seating

Southwest Airlines has replaced its first-come, first-served seating policy with an assigned seating process, offering customers three different seating options and a new boarding procedure.

Southwest Airlines ends open seating with Hawaii-to-LA flight

Southwest Airlines is ending a practice that has defined the carrier since 1971,

I Flew Southwest On Day One Of Assigned Seating — The Boarding Was A Mess And Bin Space Was Chaos

I didn’t plan to be a guinea pig for Southwest’s first day of assigned seating, but after American’s storm cancellations and operational meltdown I rebooked—and got a front-row seat to the new boarding reality. Seats may now be assigned, but the gate process still forces early queuing while carry-on bin space turns the aisle into a traffic jam, with passengers backtracking to stow bags and flight attendants trying to manage the pile-ups

Southwest Airlines Launches Assigned Seating and New Boarding Experience

As of Tuesday, Jan. 27, Southwest Airlines has officially rolled out assigned seating and a redesigned boarding process across its network. The change marks the end of the airline’s longtime open-seating policy and introduces a more structured travel experience aimed at giving customers more options and comfort. The transition unfolded across multiple time zones late Monday night from Honolulu to Los Angeles. By early Tuesday, the airline’s firs…

Give 'em The Business 1/27 & 1/28: Southwest Assigns Seating, Social Media Allegations, UnitedHealth Stocks Plummet, and more

Anticipation is skyrocketing as Elon Musk reveals his Master Plan for promising a revolutionary leap towards level two automation with robots that aren’t just building cars, they’re the builders themselves! What does this mean for the tech and automotive industries?  Nearly a year on from the devastating collision between an army helicopter and a passenger jet, we dive deep into the NTSB’s latest findings and what they recommend to the FAA to pr…