It’s the final boarding call for open seating. Southwest Airlines announced Monday that flights with assigned seats will begin Jan. 27. The current model, long a differentiator for the airline ...

Southwest Airlines' new boarding process will swap open for 'group' seating. Here's when it'll start, what it'll look like at LaGuardia Airport.

The end of an era is official for Southwest Airlines passengers. On Monday, the airline announced a start date for its new assigned seating, which will bring the airline’s longstanding open-seat ...

Southwest Airlines announces a shift from open seating to assigned seats starting July 29 for flights booked from 2026, becoming the last major airline to end a pick-any-seat policy.

Southwest Airlines announced its new reserved seating policy will begin on Jan. 27, 2026. The airline will also debut a new group boarding process by zones.

Passengers flying with Southwest Airlines will be assigned seats starting Jan. 27, 2026. The airline’s iconic open seating policy is coming to a close, along with its offer of two free checked ...

That all changed in September 2024, when Southwest Airlines debuted its three-year transformational plan, "Southwest. Even Better," which detailed a pivot to assigned and premium seating offerings.