And I’m one of them.
What’s going on with Southwest’s new policy?
Since the airline started, over 50 years ago, Southwest had uniquely offered open seating.
Anyone could take any seat, without paying extra.
In 2009, it startedselling Early-Bird seatingthat lets passengers pay extra to board earlier and snag their preferred seats.
I never bothered with Early-Bird seating but was still able to get a decent seat without paying extra.
So starting with flights in 2026, all seats will be assigned, similar to every other major airline.
And like other airlines, passengers may have to pay extra to avoid the middle seat.
Other announced changes include the introduction of premium seating.
Southwest currently offers the most generous standard legroom in economy class of any airline in the US.
That’s important considering that I might take 40 Southwest flights a year.
With an average length of more than two hours, that’s over 100 hours in the air annually.
you might also qualify for Preferred by flying 40 one-way Southwest flights.
Like many Southwest fliers, I’m a little apprehensive about the new changes next year.
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