Southwest Shares Extra Particulars on Assigned Seating and Additional Legroom — Together with Who Will Get The Perks for Free

Southwest simply revealed extra particulars for its highly-anticipated assigned seating and further legroom choices.

Following CEO Bob Jordan’s summer season announcement of eliminating the airline’s open seating coverage, we now know extra particulars about which vacationers will profit most from these adjustments, due to a brand new publish on the airline’s website.

Southwest’s entry-level A-Record tier passengers — which requires 20 one-way flights or 35,000 elite qualifying factors — will be capable to choose all customary legroom seats on the time of reserving, with the chance to decide on an additional legroom seat inside 48 hours of departure at no added price.

The airways’ A-Record Most well-liked tier passengers — which requires 40 one-way flights or 70,000 elite qualifying factors — will be capable to choose all obtainable seats on the time of reserving, together with further legroom, at no added price.

Companions on the identical reservation will obtain these seating advantages, too. A-Record and A-Record Most well-liked members will even have precedence boarding.

Premium seating choices are some of the important sources of income for Southwest’s rivals, and the provider’s surveys have proven that its vacationers want assigned seating.  Roughly a 3rd of Southwest’s seats general can have a premium, extra-legroom setup. They are going to provide at the very least three extra inches of legroom, between 34 and 36 inches of pitch. 

Southwest hasn’t but revealed what advantages these with a Fast Rewards bank card can anticipate on the subject of seating, although that’s anticipated to be introduced in early 2025. Some co-branded credit score cardholders will seemingly obtain assigned seating advantages, too. 

In the meantime, Southwest continues its plans to set up USB A and USB C energy ports on each aircraft, together with on all-new Boeing 737 MAX 8 plane delivered to Southwest, and on current MAX 8 and 737-800 planes over “the subsequent few years.”

Regardless of these adjustments, the airline reiterated that its lowest fare provide will nonetheless include two free checked baggage, no change or cancellation charges, journey credit that by no means expire, and beginning in 2025, a seat task.