Southwest Airlines Rolls Out Assigned Seating From Next Year: A New Era Of Comfort And Convenience

Sunday, July 27, 2025

Southwest Airlines breaks from contented arsenic it will adhd assigned seating to each passengers from nan opening of 2026. The move will besides springiness passengers nan action to take their seats up of time, putting an extremity to nan airlines’ celebrated cattle-call boarding process. The airline’s caller argumentation will springiness passengers nan action to prime nan type of seats they would like, including other legroom aliases preferred spot types.

When Will Southwest Airlines’ Assigned Seating Begin?

Southwest Airlines has confirmed that nan modulation to assigned seating will officially statesman connected January 27, 2026. However, passengers tin commencement purchasing tickets for flights pinch assigned seating arsenic early arsenic July 29, 2025. The hose is introducing this awesome update to streamline nan boarding process and springiness passengers much certainty erstwhile choosing their seats.

Ticket Purchases and Seat Selection Options

With nan preamble of assigned seating, Southwest will let customers to take their seats during nan booking process. Southwest’s fare bundles will supply customers pinch nan action to prime different spot types, including standard, preferred, and other legroom seats. These spot choices will beryllium disposable to passengers astatine nan clip of booking, and they tin moreover upgrade their seats for a interest if they wish to unafraid a much comfortable option.

Changes to Boarding Process

Along pinch nan assigned seating shift, Southwest will besides rotation retired a caller group-based boarding process. Under this updated system, passengers who prime other legroom seats will committee successful Groups 1-2, followed by others based connected their seating preferences. The boarding process will besides prioritize passengers who person purchased premium fares aliases are Southwest Tier Members, allowing them to committee earlier successful nan sequence.

Priority Boarding and Additional Benefits for Frequent Flyers

Frequent Southwest travelers will spot further benefits arsenic portion of nan airline’s caller boarding policy. For example, A-List and A-List Preferred members will beryllium capable to prime their seats while booking, sloppy of their fare type. Similarly, Rapid Rewards Credit Cardholders tin take their seats either astatine nan clip of booking aliases wrong 48 hours earlier their departure, depending connected nan type of in installments paper they hold. Southwest customers tin besides acquisition Priority Boarding starting 24 hours earlier their flight’s departure, allowing them to committee up of others and unafraid nan champion disposable seating.

Why Is Southwest Making These Changes?

The caller scheme for assigned seating is simply a departure from Southwest’s trademark unfastened seating policy, now known arsenic nan “cattle call,” which has been a defining characteristic of nan hose since its founding. Southwest has agelong made each passengers committee arsenic they spot fit, picking their ain seats connected a first-come, first-served basis, but says it believes assigned seating will beryllium much orderly and accommodating to its customers.

With spot options and passengers divided into boarding groups by nan value of their fare, Southwest seeks to debar nan disorder and vexation that tin travel pinch boarding an airplane. With this argumentation change, we alteration a smoother and little stressful recreation acquisition for each customers and employees.

Looking Forward to nan Transition successful 2026

However, nan move towards assigned seating will not beryllium introduced until January 2026 but passengers are capable to scheme up and book tickets for these flights successful July 2025. Southwest’s caller argumentation will beryllium phased successful betwixt now and early 2026, truthful that passengers travelling connected Southwest tin bask assigned seating and that consciousness of predictability and comfort, arsenic good arsenic nan elasticity to prime seating successful caller trading categories specified arsenic preferred seating aliases other legroom.

Loyal Southwest passengers won’t announcement a change, arsenic they’ll still beryllium capable to return advantage of privilege boarding and A-list preferred aliases regular spot action based connected their position tier.