Southwest Airlines Under Fire Over Its New Seating Policy

Southwest Airlines is under fire over its new seating policy. The Dallas-based airline transitioned from its open seating policy to assigned seating on January 27. Under the new policy, passengers are not allowed to change their seats, even when there are open rows on an almost empty aircraft.

Southwest’s Changing Policies

Southwest has long been known for its generous policies. For one, while other airlines charge passengers not just for checked bags but also for carry-ons, Southwest allowed two checked bags for free. Then there were zero change fees and its open seating policy.

With many of these features changing, flyers are not happy about it. Passengers have shared their frustration with the new policy on social media. They say they are having issues reading seat numbers, have encountered problems with the boarding flow, and cannot spread out on the plane.

The airline’s representative told Fox News Digital when asked to comment on the issue, “We’re always looking for ways to improve our customer experience, to continue delivering the seamless and reliable travel journey that customers expect from Southwest.” 

Southwest’s spokesperson added, “The employees of Southwest deliver the best hospitality in the airline industry alongside our best-in-class reliability.” “We look forward to continuing to provide our customers with friendly, reliable and low-cost travel.”

In the r/SouthwestAirlines subreddit,  someone wrote: “Yes, it is as bad as everyone is saying.” The user added, “[I] paid for an emergency row seat. There are two people next to me. All the other rows around me (same class or lower) only have one person on them. We still can’t scoot over even though we paid for seats.” 

Southwest’s New Policies

Over the past year, Southwest has introduced new policies. Aside from the new seating policy, the airline implemented fees for checked baggage just last year. This has resulted in passengers carrying more luggage on board.

One problem that has emerged as a by-product of the new seating policy and fees for checked baggage  involves overhead bin space and boarding order. 

Since front-row passengers board later, some find no available overhead bin space above their seats, prompting them to head toward the back of the plane and look for available storage. In response, Southwest recently moved the flight attendants’ dedicated overhead bin storage from the front to the back of the aircraft to provide more space for passengers.