Southwest Airlines is ending its longstanding policy of letting customers select their own seats during boarding, switching to assigned seating in response to customer feedback for the first time in 50 years. Under the new policy, announced by the budget airline on Thursday, the boarding process will adopt a more traditional assigned seating plan, with premium seats available for an extra charge.
“The research is clear and indicates that 80% of Southwest Customers, and 86% of potential Customers, prefer an assigned seat,” the airline said in an announcement on its website.
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“Moving to assigned seating and offering premium legroom options will be a transformational change that cuts across almost all aspects of the Company,” said Bob Jordan, President, CEO, & Vice Chairman of the Board. “Although our unique open seating model has been a part of Southwest Airlines since our inception, our thoughtful and extensive research makes it clear this is the right choice—at the right time—for our Customers, our People, and our Shareholders. We are excited to incorporate Customer and Employee feedback to design a unique experience that only Southwest can deliver.”
The new assigned seating plan could potentially affect ticket costs as the airline implements new seat tiers, but the company has given no indication of when or if a price change will be rolled out.
Connor Walcott is a staff writer for Valuetainment.com. Follow Connor on X and look for him on VT’s “The Unusual Suspects.”
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