Southwest Airways is gearing up for assigned seating. Beginning early subsequent yr, all Southwest passengers will get an assigned seat — they usually’ll have the choice to fly within the airline’s all-new further legroom rows.
Flights with the brand new seating setup go on sale July 29 for flights departing on or after Jan. 27, 2026.
As a part of that shift, Southwest may also make a serious change to its boarding course of, ending the distinctive, single-file setup it is used for years. That announcement got here after TPG reported earlier this yr that Southwest had determined to go along with new boarding procedures that look much more like those utilized by its high rivals.
Discount searching: When is one of the best time to e-book flights for the most cost effective airfare?
Sure, that can imply an finish to the times of setting a check-in alarm to safe a boarding place — and it will additionally finish the Southwest preflight ritual of lining up alongside silver posts on the gate.
The service could have new methods handy out preferential boarding entry to prospects who pay extra for its further legroom seats, carry certainly one of its bank cards or have A-Checklist elite standing.
Tips on how to get a superb boarding group on Southwest
In all, Southwest plans to make use of a complete of eight boarding teams.
The boarding group you get might be decided by a couple of elements, together with:
- What fare product you select: As a part of the shift, Southwest will rename its fare courses. They’re going to be referred to as: Fundamental, Alternative, Alternative Most popular and Alternative Additional (the latter of which is able to include an additional legroom seat). Greater-priced fares include an earlier boarding group.
- Elite standing: Southwest will give precedence boarding to its Fast Rewards A-Checklist and A-Checklist Most popular flyers
- Credit score cardholders: Fast Rewards members with a Southwest bank card will get earlier boarding.
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The 8 boarding teams on Southwest Airways
This is how Southwest’s new boarding teams will shake out, efficient Jan. 27, 2026.
| Teams | Passengers allowed to board |
|---|---|
| Teams 1 and a couple of |
|
| Teams 3 by way of 5 |
|
| Teams 6 by way of 8 |
|
Precedence boarding add-on choice
There’s a further solution to shortcut the boarding line: Southwest mentioned prospects will have the ability to buy precedence boarding 24 hours previous to departure.
Which group will most prospects use?
In the event you do not carry a Southwest bank card, do not have elite standing, and do not pay to improve to an additional legroom seat, I count on you will doubtless land in:
- Group 6 or 7, if you happen to go for certainly one of its “Alternative” fares
- Group 7 or 8, if you choose a “Fundamental” fare
Nearer to subsequent January, the service plans to elaborate additional on its boarding course of, gate expertise and preboard coverage, Southwest mentioned this week.
Backside line
As anticipated, Southwest’s new boarding setup positive seems to be much more just like the grouped format utilized by different main airways. Nevertheless, because the Dallas-based service does not even have a first-class cabin, scoring an additional legroom seats is the important thing to a precedence boarding group.
Consider, you may get a spot in a type of extra-space rows by:
- Buying a Alternative Additional fare
- Paying to improve your seat
- Deciding on it totally free at reserving as an A-Checklist Most popular member
- Deciding on it totally free inside 48 hours of departure as an A-Checklist member or an eligible credit score cardholder
Boarding early will not include fairly the stakes because it does right this moment on Southwest, because it will not be your ticket to getting a superb seat. A variety of that might be labored out now once you e-book your flight.
Nevertheless, getting on board early may nonetheless be key to getting access to the overhead bins, because the airline now expenses most prospects for checked baggage.
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