{"id":85703,"date":"2025-01-02T22:07:06","date_gmt":"2025-01-02T16:37:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.seminarsonly.com\/news\/?p=85703"},"modified":"2025-01-02T22:07:06","modified_gmt":"2025-01-02T16:37:06","slug":"when-does-southwest-start-assigning-seats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/when-does-southwest-start-assigning-seats\/","title":{"rendered":"When Does Southwest Start Assigning Seats"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Does Southwest Start Assigning Seats<\/span><\/h2>\n

Southwest Airlines is making a big change! They’re moving away from their open seating policy and will start assigning seats to passengers.<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h3>\n

Here’s the timeline:<\/span><\/h2>\n
    \n
  • Late 2025:<\/strong> Southwest will begin selling<\/em> tickets with assigned seats.<\/li>\n
  • First half of 2026:<\/strong> The first flights with assigned seating will take off.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    So, you won’t see assigned seats on Southwest flights until sometime in the first half of 2026.<\/p>\n

    What this means for you:<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
      \n
    • No more scrambling for seats:<\/strong> You’ll know your seat assignment in advance, reducing the stress of boarding and ensuring you can sit with your travel companions.<\/li>\n
    • New fare tiers:<\/strong> Southwest is introducing new fare tiers, likely offering different levels of legroom, priority boarding, and other perks.<\/li>\n
    • Potential for extra legroom:<\/strong> Southwest plans to introduce “premium extended legroom” seats with more space.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Keep in mind:<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
        \n
      • Details are still being finalized:<\/strong> Southwest is still working out the specifics of the assigned seating system, including the cabin layout and boarding process. They plan to release more information in late September 2024.<\/li>\n
      • Changes will be significant:<\/strong> This is a major shift for Southwest, and it will likely change the flying experience for many customers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        It’s an exciting time for Southwest flyers! While we wait for the full details, it’s good to know that assigned seating is on its way.<\/p>\n

        Assigned and Premium Seating<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

        After listening carefully to Customers and conducting extensive research, Southwest decided it will assign seats and offer premium seating options on all flights. The airline has been known for its unique open seating model for more than 50 years, but preferences have evolved with more Customers taking longer flights where a seat assignment is preferred. Additionally, Southwest conducted robust operational testing that included live and over 8 million simulation-based boarding trials. The airline is confident that these Customer enhancements will meet expectations and not compromise the airline’s operational efficiency.<\/p>\n

        The research is clear and indicates that 80% of Southwest Customers, and 86% of potential Customers, prefer an assigned seat. When a Customer elects to stop flying with Southwest and chooses a competitor, open seating is cited as the number one reason for the change. By moving to an assigned seating model, Southwest expects to broaden its appeal and attract more flying from its current and future Customers.<\/p>\n

        In addition to assigning seats, Southwest will offer a premium, extended legroom portion of the cabin that research shows many Customers strongly prefer. While specific cabin layout details are still in design, Southwest expects roughly one-third of seats across the fleet to offer extended legroom, in line with that offered by industry peers on narrowbody aircraft.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        When Does Southwest Start Assigning Seats Southwest Airlines is making a big change! They’re moving away from their open seating policy and will start assigning seats to passengers. Here’s the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19003,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-85703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nWhen Does Southwest Start Assigning Seats - Seminarsonly.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Southwest Airlines is making a big change! They're moving away from their open seating policy and will start assigning seats to passengers. 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