Love it or hate it, Southwest Airlines is ditching open seating for assigned seats. Here's the latest on when Southwest seat assignments will start.

Southwest pushed back the expected start date in an announcement ... It did not give details for when the premium seating with more legroom between seats would be available. In July, Southwest ...

Southwest Airlines has an activist firm breathing down its back to cut costs and generate ... a third of its planes will get extra-legroom seats that boast at least five inches of extra pitch.

However, while open seating earned Southwest the loyalty of many travelers, it has also cost the airline profits, given that seat selection is a profit stream that many carriers rely on.

Southwest Airlines will end open seating in early 2026. It will sell tickets for the first flights with assigned seating and premium seats in the second half of 2025. Southwest assigned seating ...