Southwest has long been a unique airline.
It has resisted assigned seating, preferring open seating which helps board and turn around planes more quickly. Over the years though the open cattle call turned into 3 boarding groups and then boarding numbers within each of those groups. But for over half a century it maintained open seating.
In 2010, AirTran poked fun at Southwest’s cattle call:
Southwest had the last laugh though, it bought out Airtran to have one less low-cost competitor, and then sold off its Boeing 717 fleet to Delta and mostly retreated from the Atlanta hub.
Southwest has never flown a red-eye. Southwest’s IT is legendary for being ancient, which led to a meltdown in December 2022. However, the ancient IT also saved Southwest from CrowdStrike, so you win some, you lose some. That IT has required the airline to reset its systems every night, which requires all Southwest planes to be grounded, which they are for several hours nightly.
The airline famously charges no change fees, though some of that luster was lost when United and then all major airlines killed off change fees. Southwest kept its advantage by not offering basic economy fares and by killing off the expiration of flight credits.
And Southwest allows 2 free checked bags, something that other airlines killed off in 2008, when Southwest reduced their free baggage allowance from 3 to 2. But the lack of ancillary fees has meant Southwest charges more for flights, which is attractive for some, but also leads to more people booking away when they don’t need that bundling.
The airline used to have lower labor costs than other airlines, but that advantage has disappeared and investors have been demanding changes to increase profitability.
Southwest has resisted having its fares on any comparison sites, in the past suing to keep its fares private. That changed when they started allowing Google Flights to showcase its fares 2 months ago.
Southwest announced today that they will switch to assigned seating, saying that most customers prefer this model. It also allows for better monetization of preferred seats. The airline will also convert 1/3rd of the seats into extra legroom seats, which it will be able to upsell. With new slimline seats, the airline will be able to add extra legroom seats without losing seats on the plane, though expect less legroom for the other 2/3rds of the plane.
Families with children under 2 have long enjoyed the open seating, as they can claim a free seat as long as the plane has any empty seats, so that may be the biggest loss here.
Southwest is also now selling its first ever red-eye flights, starting with Las Vegas to Baltimore and Orlando; Los Angeles to Baltimore and Nashville; and Phoenix to Baltimore on 2/13/25. Expect that list to grow in the coming months and years as it finally embraces a round-the-clock operation which will improve its aircraft utilization. Apparently, investments in better IT will allow that operation by next February.
Overall, I think these are positive changes, but I think that paid checked bags and basic economy fares can’t be too far behind…
It remains to be seen what benefits Southwest elite members will receive as the airline transitions from open seating to assigned seating, but stay tuned!
What do you think of changes like assigned seating, extra legroom seats, and red-eye flights?
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33 Comments On "Final Cattle Call: Southwest Continues Its Transformation Into A Traditional Carrier"
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I hated the open seating arrangement
Now they’re just going to monetize seating and do the whole “extra legroom” BS. I prefer the open seating over all that
I happened to have liked the open seating and priority boarding with kids. They would often let me take my car seat on board with a baby even though I didn’t book a seat.
Too bad they ditched the NJ area to Florida routes…..
I took a red eye from LAS to Islip 10 years ago. It existed. It’s simply they have virtually no long (enough) haul flights to create a red eye. Redeyes in usa only exist going eastward with the 3 hours time forward. You need a flight long enough leaving late enough so that it lands after the airports reopen landing on domestic which is always after 6 am …
Flights back from Alaska and Hawaii are frequently red eyes as well.
what about lax-bwi that was able to have a red eye which they are only adding now
I’ve flown hundreds of flights on WN (All on points. Back in the day a flight from NYC to LAX was as low as 6k) open seating, companion pass, multiple overlapping reservations, 2 free checked bags and carryon. RIP to the greatest domestic airline.
+1
I know lots of people would disagree with me. But Best airline by far!! 2 free bags, can easily use points and easily cancel and rebook, companion pass. Yes they don’t have lie flat first, but that wasn’t in my budget either way. #1 customer service.
+1
Apparently, another reason for this is the recent abuse of the open seating system through wheelchair requests, which allow the passengers in order to board first and get preferred seats. These same passengers are then miraculously cured (through “Jetway Jesus” as the FAs call it) when entering the plane, and then manage to move around during the flight deplane without any assistance.
Disagree. It’s because of money, and that’s really it.
I know of many older travelers that go as wheelchair passengers due to the amount of time they would otherwise need to be on their feet (mostly standing on line at TSA), not because of being handicapped. They are not trying to take advantage, but if it allows them to preboard, they will happily do so.
When they left the EWR market a couple of years ago, I stopped flying them, it was a big loss for us, we used them to LA and Chicago often.
Please add a third option to the poll, so I can vote. it makes no difference to me
Me too
This post reads like an obituary
Unfortunately, it is. Dan rarely flew SW but for folks like me, this is bad sad news.
The loss of a free seat for my toddler (if there was even one extra seat), the almost guarantee that I will now get a smaller seat, the general direction of heading towards profit over humans, this is all very sad for us. If flight load was only at 2/3 capacity, everyone on the flight got an empty seat next to them.
I would always fly southwest if I could, even if they were priced higher than the other airlines (within reason). That edge is fast slipping away. I hope their customer service remains above the rest.
Red eye flights is a good upgrade though. About time.
I’m waiting for them to show on expedia, priceline and that sort.
If they add assigned seating without charging for “preferred” seats, it will be a good move. Otherwise, it is just a sign of a greedy carrier charging more for the same product.
Hopefully they will put families seats together and allow upgrading to preferred seating with points (if you have a companion pass and are in a city that’s a WN hub, no better airline to fly).
Too much of the discussion I’ve seen around this centers around abuse of the current open seating policies. Southwest forums have been swamped lately with increased reports of this abuse. But none of that is driving Southwest’s change here. I suspect that Southwest marketing may even be behind this recent uptick to help soften the blow of upcoming changes. Let’s be clear: This is about driving additional revenue options to please the board.
when is this starting?
Sometime next year
Any date?
Too much pressure from activist investors. There is a reason this happens to all airlines. They buy enough shares, board seats, CEO’s either get on board or are shown the door. You need another option on the poll for won’t have much affect at all on whether or not you will fly.
I use WN lots for my kids going back and forth to different schools. I probably will still continue to do so when the numbers make sense. What would it take to get them back to EWR? And more flights out of ORD? ORD-EWR would make lots of people very happy but maybe not much to help the big picture.
The open seating arrangement was amazing for families with kids! This is a huge disappointment and will likely lead me to not flying Southwest in the future.
@DANSDEALS – Would be helpful to the K’lal if you started and circulated a petition for them to keep it open seating.
Any news on family boarding/seating? Current family status policy is amazing!
Love it. Don’t have to remember to check in 24 hours before for higher place in the line.
When will the seating change go into effect? Wondering about flights I have booked for September and November?
I’m in a focused city for Southwest but I have not even considered flying them for anything longer than an hour because I’m 6’8 and can’t really gamble on exit row/bulkhead being available with the cattle call. It’s kind of sad to see them lose some of their more unique features but the addition of extra legroom seats will absolutely change my calculus when considering them vs other carriers.
This is a major loss. Open seating is one of the most attractive qualities of the airline for those who need it or play it right. 1)Definitely best for families because of family boarding after Zone A. 2) Extra seat for lap child for those concerned about Dan’s #everychildaseat without wanting to pay for it. 3) I have an alarm on my phone set to 24 hours before departure on all my SWA flights to check in right away for earlier boarding position. 4) I have the SWA Priority card which gives A1-15 boarding up to 4 times annually for free. This also works for couples because it’s easy to save a middle seat for your partner. 5) I could choose who to sit next to from those who already boarded. 6) Little known hack- the FAs often stand in the first rows and exit rows during boarding so everyone walks right past those. Politely ask them if you can sit there and get a priority seat without priority boarding. So yes, this is a big loss for us, and judging from the poll above they’re lying when they say the customers asked for it.