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Southwest Ends Open Seating After 55 Years: Crew and Passenger Reactions from Day One
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Johnny Jet
In July of 2025, Southwest Airlines (SWA) made national news when it announced it was ending its open seating policy on January 27, 2026.
One post asked how Southwest’s new policy of assigned seating went after 55 years of open seating.
Holly K.I am not crew, but I did fly Southwest today, twice with a connection.
Great flights today.
By getting rid of open seating, Southwest has ended the nasty trick many passengers used to get free early boarding and snag seats toward the front of the plane.