26-Aug-2025 12:11 PM
Southwest Airlines to introduce new seating policy from Jan-2026
Southwest Airlines, via its official website, announced (Aug-2025) a new policy requiring passengers who "encroach upon the neighbouring seat" to purchase two seats from 27-Jan-2026. Southwest noted: "The armrest is considered to be the definitive boundary between seats". As previously reported by CAPA, the LCC will introduce assigned seating from this date.
Background ✨
Southwest announced it would launch assigned and premium seating for all tickets purchased for travel from 27-Jan-2026, with the new seating feature available for purchase in advance1 2. The carrier planned to commence selling assigned and premium seating in 3Q2025, supported by a reconfigured fleet with extra legroom seating to be operated from 1Q20263 4.