Southwest Airlines announces “open seat” policy end date
Jul 22, 2025, 12:43 PM | Updated: 1:33 pm
After decades of being the airline of bags flying free and passengers sitting in any seat, Southwest Airlines has announced the date of its “open seat” policy ending which will be January 27, 2026.
In what Southwest is calling “Seatisfaction,” the company announced that beginning July 29, customers will have the option to select their seat while booking their flight.
In addition to the new seating selection, they are launching a reimagined boarding process and will prioritize customers based on their seating location. Boarding first will be extra legroom seats in the first two boarding groups, and then premium fares and Southwest’s tier and credit cardmembers will board.
