Southwest Airlines has announced a significant shift in its boarding process, confirming that passengers will have assigned seats starting on January 27, 2025. Customers will be able to purchase tickets that include assigned seating from July 29, 2024, marking the end of the airline’s long-standing open seating policy that has distinguished it from competitors for over fifty years. This change is part of a broader strategy by Southwest to adapt to a competitive market and enhance revenue streams.
The airline’s leadership has been clear about the motivations behind this transition. According to Southwest, it expects these new initiatives to contribute an additional $800 million to its earnings before interest and taxes in 2024, with projections reaching $1.7 billion by 2026. As part of this overhaul, the airline will also begin charging many customers for checked baggage and introduce several new fare types.
The move to assigned seating was initially announced in March 2024, but this latest update finally provides a timeline for implementation. The transition aims to create a more efficient boarding process, while still prioritizing the experience of the airline’s most loyal customers. Stephanie Shafer Modi, Managing Director of Fares and Ancillary Products at Southwest, emphasized the importance of balancing efficiency with customer care. She stated, “We wanted to make sure that, as we designed a boarding construct that sort of paired well with assigned seating, that we were optimizing for efficiency, but also balancing that with making sure that we’re taking care of our most loyal customers.”
With assigned seating, the familiar aspects of Southwest’s open-seating policy, such as the A-B-C boarding groups and the scramble for seats, will be replaced by a new structure featuring eight boarding groups. These groups will be determined by seat selection, customer status, and other factors. The top-tier frequent flyers and premium ticket holders will board first, while the remaining groups will be assigned based on ticket types, including “Choice” and “Basic” fare holders.
The airline has not yet disclosed pricing for seat assignments, which can vary significantly on competing airlines. Passengers will have options for standard, preferred, and extra-legroom seats, as Southwest continues to reconfigure its Boeing 737 fleet. Currently, approximately 200 aircraft have been modified to accommodate extra-legroom seating, representing about 25% of the total fleet.
While the new boarding process is expected to change the dynamics of family seating, Shafer Modi reassured customers that the airline will strive to keep families together, stating, “We will try to do our best to make sure that families are seated together no matter how they buy a ticket.”
As Southwest Airlines prepares for these changes, it is clear that the airline is positioning itself for a new era of air travel. The introduction of assigned seating, alongside other revenue-enhancing measures, signals a strategic pivot aimed at remaining competitive in a rapidly evolving industry.
