Southwest Moves to Assigned Seating, Ending Its Open-Seat Era

Southwest Airlines has retired its decades-long open seating policy in favor of assigned seating with three fare-based categories (standard, preferred, extra legroom) and a new boarding order tied to fare class and elite status. The change also ends the flexible policy for plus-size passengers, requiring two seats upfront. Premiering with water-cannon salutes and celebratory gates, the move aims to modernize the experience and boost revenue, but drew mixed reactions from longtime fliers who valued the old system’s unpredictability and egalitarian ethos.