No more open seating on Southwest Airlines: Here are the new fare options and when you’ll have to start paying
Southwest Airlines has announced new seating and fare options that customers can choose from when its open seating policy ends next year.
Southwest Airlines will no longer have opening seating beginning next year. In its place, passengers will be able to select from four fare bundles and three seating options which the discount carrier recently announced.
This comes as Southwest has also changed its checked baggage policy that will begin 28 May. With the exception of Business Select passengers, all travelers will have to pay to check their luggage.
Goodbye open seating on Southwest, hello extra leg room and perks
Beginning sometime in the third quarter of this year, Southwest customers will be able to choose from the new fare bundles and seating options including Extra Legroom, Preferred and Standard. “With new choices like seat selection and Extra Legroom, our enhanced fare bundles let Customers customize their trip while still enjoying our industry-leading reliability and hospitality.” said Tony Roach, Southwest Executive Vice President Customer & Brand in a press release.
These will be available on bookings for flights scheduled to depart in 2026. This is what passengers will get with the new seating options:
- Extra Legroom seat: Seats located at the front of the cabin and near the exit rows will have up to five additional inches of extra legroom. Plus earlier access to bin space, enhanced snacks, and complimentary premium beverages.
- Preferred seat: Standard legroom seats near the front of the cabin.
- Standard seat: Standard legroom seats located in the back of the cabin.
The airline has not listed any prices for these new seating options as of yet nor the four fare bundles they will be included in for customers to choose from.
These include Choice Extra, which comes with extra legroom, the above mentioned perks and two free checked bags, Choice Preferred, which lets you choose your seat and board at the start of general boarding, Choice, you can select a standard seat, and Basic, whose ticketholders will be assigned a standard seat at check-in.
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