Southwest abandons open boarding

Southwest Airlines has scrapped the open boarding system that defined the carrier for decades and replaced it with assigned seats. (southwest.com) The new setup is already on sale for trips starting January 27, 2026, and it splits the cabin into Standard, Preferred, and Extra Legroom seats. Southwest says Extra Legroom seats offer up to five more inches of pitch than its standard seats. (southwest.com) The fare menu changed with the seats. Basic passengers get a standard seat assigned at check-in and board last, while Choice, Choice Preferred, and Choice Extra customers get earlier seat selection and earlier boarding groups. (southwest.com) The baggage promise changed too. Southwest now charges Basic, Choice, and Choice Preferred customers $45 for a first checked bag and $55 for a second on mainland trips booked or changed on or after April 9, 2026, while Choice Extra still includes two free checked bags. (southwest.com) Southwest tied the overhaul to its financial results on April 22, saying the transformation plan announced 18 months ago is now fully in place. The airline reported first-quarter operating revenue of $7.2 billion, up 12.8% from a year earlier, and said about 60% of customers upgraded from the base product in the quarter, up from about 20% in 2025. (southwestairlinesinvestorrelations.com) The company also said the new products helped lift margins even as fuel got more expensive. Southwest posted net income of $227 million and a 4.6% operating margin in the first quarter, but it warned that second-quarter earnings would land between $0.35 and $0.65 a share. (prnewswire.com) (usnews.com) Southwest did not update its full-year 2026 profit outlook on April 22. Chief Executive Bob Jordan said in the earnings release that “the external environment remains uncertain,” and Skift reported the airline said changing the annual forecast “would not be productive.” (prnewswire.com) (skift.com) For travelers, the practical change is that Southwest now looks more like the rest of the U.S. airline industry. A low fare can mean a middle or back-of-cabin seat assigned later, checked-bag fees on top, and a paid upgrade if you want more legroom or a better boarding position. (southwest.com 1) (southwest.com 2) For Southwest, the bet is that the old quirks were leaving money on the table. The airline says demand for the new products drove record first-quarter revenue; the next test is whether that revenue can keep offsetting fuel costs that are already pressuring its second-quarter outlook. (prnewswire.com) (cnbc.com)