‘Soul of Southwest is gone’: Passengers divided after 1 week of airline’s new seating, boarding procedure

"Is this now the new frontier airlines???" said one Southwest flyer on X.

Southwest's open seating policy ends Monday: What's the new boarding process?

Southwest will also begin a new group-based boarding system starting on Jan 27. The new boarding process will prioritize ...
The Points Guy

The day has come: Southwest launches assigned seating, shakes up boarding process

The changes Southwest Airlines has been planning for more than a year are now live — including assigned seats, ending the ...

Why Southwest Now Uses Assigned Seating and How It Works

As of January 27, 2026, Southwest Airlines no longer has an open seating policy. Here's how Southwest now boards its aircraft and why it chose to go this route.

Southwest Airlines Says Bye to Open Seating—and Hello to Boarding Complexity

No longer! On Tuesday, Southwest Airlines officially inaugurated its new assigned seating policy, the last in a suite of ...

Southwest Airlines' signature policy to come to an end on Tuesday

Southwest is replacing A, B and C boarding groups with groups 1 through 8.

Southwest officially ends open seating as passengers take flight with new assigned seats

The Dallas, Texas-based carrier transitioned from its longtime open seating system in keeping with competitors like American, ...
KCTV News

Southwest Airlines to offer assigned seating and new boarding procedures, breaking with 50-year tradition

DALLAS (AP) — Goodbye, cattle call. Southwest Airlines said Thursday that it plans to drop the open-boarding system it has used for more than 50 years and will start assigning passengers to seats, ...
Upgraded Points on MSN

Southwest’s new boarding process with assigned seats starts tomorrow. Here’s what you should know

Flying Southwest Airlines changes forever as of Tuesday, January 27. Marketing it as seatisfacton for all, passengers flying Southwest will no longer be able to pick whichever seat they like during ...