Newsweek

Southwest Airlines Faces Backlash After Announcing Major Change to Seating

For decades, Southwest Airlines’ boarding process was as distinctive as its bright-colored planes. Passengers checked in early, grabbed an A, B, or C boarding position, and raced to claim their ...
CNBC

Southwest ends open seating after 54 years. Here's what the last flight was like

Southwest Airlines ended its open-seating policy after 54 years and has started assigning seats to passengers. The airline's executives say customers sought the change and touted the financial ...
Travel + Leisure

Southwest Just Rolled Out Its Most Controversial Policy Change—What to Know

The airline ends its decades-long open seating model and updates its extra seat refund policy amid broader shifts. Evie Carrick is a writer and editor who’s lived in five countries and visited well ...
Los Angeles Times

Southwest’s open seating ends with final flight

This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here. After nearly 60 years of its unique and popular open-seating policy, Southwest Airlines flew its last flight with ...
CBS News

Assigned seating on Southwest Airlines begins Tuesday. Here's what passengers should know.

Southwest Airlines passengers made their final boarding-time scrambles for seats on Monday as the Dallas-based carrier prepared to end the open-seating system that distinguished it from other airlines ...
Wired

Southwest Airlines Says Bye to Open Seating—and Hello to Boarding Complexity

What is the best way to cram people into a tin can in the sky? For five decades, Dallas-based budget airline Southwest made its reputation on its unique open seating policy. Savvy passengers who ...
Wall Street Journal

Southwest’s Open-Seating Era Comes to an End

LOS ANGELES—Kiran Gollapudi got lucky before his flight to Las Vegas took off on Saturday. The urologist nabbed a roomy exit-row seat on Southwest Airlines despite a mediocre boarding position, thanks ...
Fox Business

Southwest Airlines officially ends longstanding open-seating model, begins plus-size pricing change

Southwest Airlines is officially ending two signature policies that have long set the carrier apart from its competitors. Starting Tuesday, the controversial policies announced last year will raise ...
New York Post

Southwest’s controversial plus-size passenger policy kicks in Tuesday — here’s what it means for travelers

Starting Tuesday, Southwest Airlines is enacting its controversial new policy that will raise ticket prices for plus-size passengers. Under the new rules, announced last year, travelers who cannot fit ...
Inc

Southwest Airlines Just Got Some Great News—Right When It Mattered Most

I’ve spent an uncomfortable amount of time over the past year writing about what Southwest Airlines has been giving up. This is business, but at times it has felt a little personal to me. A company ...
Austin American-Statesman

Southwest is getting rid of open seating. Here’s when assigned seats begin

Southwest Airlines is ending its open-seating policy today and replacing it with a new rule for passengers: they must choose seats when purchasing a ticket. Southwest Airlines executive Tony Roach ...
Forbes

Southwest Airlines: Competitors Concerned. Consumers Are Thrilled.

Too many analysts assume that Southwest will just adjust itself to be more like other airlines. They may be very mistaken. USA air travelers are well aware that changes are going on at Southwest ...