Southwest Airlines has a special place in the hearts of many frequent flyers. The rambunctious carrier grew up in Texas and has always retained the indivualistic attitude that put it on the map decades ago.
But things change, even Texas. Folks there still drive friendly but they mostly stay in their lane and do as they are told, so although many of us still like playing Southwest Roulette -- where you basically get in line and take your chances -- those days are numbered.
At its Investor Day briefing in Dallas today, Southwest is announcing that passengers will soon be assigned a seat and they will be expected to sit in it not roam around like a bunch of cattle.
Using as many Capital Letters as possible, Southwest announced it this way:
"Even more choices"
- Assigned Seating: Southwest will broaden its consumer appeal and boost demand through an assigned seating model. Airline passengers now have a clear preference for seat assignments: 80 percent of Southwest Customers and 86 percent of passengers who choose other airlines want assigned seats. The Company expects to begin selling assigned seats in the second half of 2025, with its first flights operating with the new model in the first half of 2026.
- Premium Seating: Market research shows that the preference for an assigned seat with extra legroom offers broad appeal for both business and leisure travelers. Southwest will offer extra legroom options with up to five additional inches of pitch for approximately a third of its seats while maintaining a standard economy seat pitch among the best in the industry.
- Southwest Boarding with Upgrades: Southwest will evolve its boarding process with seat assignments while focusing on operational efficiency and improving the Customer Experience. The carrier’s most loyal Customers and those who purchase premium seating will continue to be among the first to board.
- Bags Continue to Fly Free: Extensive research reinforces Southwest’s bags fly free® policy1 remains the most important feature by far in setting Southwest apart from other airlines.
Overhead bins and more
The flowery language reached cruising altitude as Green and others described other "innovations," including more global airline partnerships to help folks get out and about, a 24-hour flight schedule and faster flight turnaround times.
Well, it all sounds Mighty Fine but it's a little sad for us old airborne drifters to see another legendary bare-bones airline morph into something a bit flightier. First it was the Eastern Shuttle, then PSA and now the original Southwest, all flown away like dust in the wind.