Southwest Airlines has had assigned seating for about four weeks, and what’s most shocking about it isn’t the fees it’s how strict the airline is about not letting customers move around in the cabin when flights are nearly empty.
- Passengers used to choose their seat when they boarded. There was a rush for the best seats. On flights that weren’t full, everyone just spread out.
- On most airlines you have an assigned seat, but when there are plenty of empty seats it’s ok to still spread out (but not to take an extra legroom seat if you haven’t paid for it). Delta’s rules are explicit about allowing this.
- Southwest is an outlier. Southwest Airlines doesn’t just assign seats and sell seats, they’ve been enforcing seat assignments like nobody else. Here’s 26 passengers on a flight with six people in the same row and “3 specific announcements not to move seats.”
Customers on Southwest report that if they’re in a middle seat and the window next to them is empty, they’re scolded not to move into it. They can’t leave that middle seat empty between the passenger in the window and aisle. You must take your originally-assigned seats. They’ve been told they couldn’t use an empty seat next to them for their lap infant.
And there’s a real problem. When you buy your seat assignment, you don’t know whom you’re sitting next to. Now, you may get stuck next to a passenger of size. They’re spilling into your seat. There’s no reason you shouldn’t be able to move into another seat. Here you aren’t even getting the seat you paid for – because part of it is being forcefully taken by someone else!
@SouthwestAir Buy better AI. I paid for a seat. My row is full. Empty rows in front. Attendant says "We must follow the rules". Can you call FLT129 Phx-Stl And give permission for the fat guy in the back row to not go to SWA jail for moving up a row? pic.twitter.com/PLU1goK5e5
— Ken Dobson (@kdobson99) February 24, 2026
Some readers have reacted to this and says ‘that’s how assigned seats work’ but it isn’t. Here’s Delta’s rule allowing moving to an empty seat in the same cabin subject to crewmember discretion.
If you and another customer agree to swap seats, please try to do so before departure whenever possible.
Any swap between cabins/seat products must be completed before in-flight service begins. After service starts, moving between classes is not permitted.
If you’d like to move to an unoccupied seat within your ticketed cabin/seat product during the flight, please ask a flight attendant — changes are at the crew’s discretion and depend on safety considerations.
Southwest’s assigned seating is punitive. They went from most flexible to most draconian overnight. They want to enforce revenue protection – afraid that passengers might somehow get more value than they’ve paid for, and skip ponying up if there’s a chance they can do better on board.
They ‘solved for the equilibrium’ of an activist investor threatening their jobs. But with that investor paring down their stake and losing board seats, it’s time to pivot towards regaining some of their soul.
This is just another in a long list of reasons why I will not be flying Greedwest in the future. From Best to Worst in less than a year.
I don’t know, Gary…..either this is a terrible workplace with draconian rules and co-workers who would inform on you if you allowed passengers to move, or perhaps its the FA’s being passive/aggressive and being overly stringent because they don’t like the new assigned seating model.
I blame other passengers unless Southwest is faking most seats as sold when I am setting up my assigned seats. I have noticed that some passengers seem to like to clump together. Solutions are to go online and reset your assigned seat to one that doesn’t have other passengers in the same row on the same side at the last time to do it. Then when checking in, attempt to move to a seat that is not crowded against another passenger. Checking in at the end of the check in period may help on this. Further, recheck with the gate agent before boarding starts.
I have never regretted not choosing a Southwest flight, even though it cost more.
This looks exactly like malicious compliance by disgruntled flight attendants. When Southwest gets around to issuing an official policy on switching seats, it won’t completely ban switching.
Based on that pic from Twitter, it looks like they are all in the last row. Southwest’s system (and most) tend to put their Basic passengers in the back and fill forward.
If you want more space, pay for it. America’s public wasn’t paying the real value of Southwest Airlines, so now they’re more in line with the pricing model. Sadly the American public blew it, not Southwest. People want cheap fares, then you get cheap service. Same reason we saw Midwest Express go under.
SegementQueen – you are full of crap.
The most important thing is that Elliott Management made lots and lots and lots and lots of money on their investment. If the aftermath is a destroyed company and disgruntled customers, oh well – it’s not anything they have to deal with.
It’s almost as if a country voted for a leader, believing his promises to improve the economy for everyone. But then turned around and implement illegal tariffs which actually made everything significantly more expensive (except eggs and gas), while falsely saying it would be foreign countries that paid the tariffs – not consumers. On top of that, he cozied up to foreign governments to enrich his own family, and then signed legislation that reduced the tax burden on millionaires and billionaires.
Kinda sounds like what Elliott Management did with Southwest – the death and destruction of a beloved organization in their wake, but lots and lots and lots and lots more money for them!! If they go after Costco next, we’re truly screwed!!
I think WN has gone too far, to the point where it’s a competitive disadvantage. I detect Elliot’s hand behind this. Given the same fare, I’d buy from another carrier. My family has to drive two hours and pay to remote park to get to the nearest airport that WN serves. That more than wipes out the faree difference from my local airport.
If you’re changing in the same row or a seat in the same cabin, what difference does it make? It’s not theft, because once the cabin for is closed the seat is no longer available for sale.
At least give passengers on board an option to buy up for a small fee.
The main reason Southwest has lost me as a customer is because of assigned seating AND paying for bags. It’s Delta Airlines every time for me from here on out.
Never thought this could happen, but Southwest is making Spirit look good…
Passengers changing seats could be a problem on many flights since Southwest still has “see and airport and land” flights. If the flight is a “terminator” when landing, then the flight attendants will know that and no big deal. Otherwise even more chaos will ensue when boarding pax find their “perfect” seat occupied for the next four legs from Manchester to St. Louis to Las Vegas to San Jose to Honolulu.
The problem is it can be cheaper to fly first class on some short haul flying then pay for a coach ticket on southworst,80 dollars for 2 bags and 50:dollars for a seat assignment
I have never flown more than 2 hours on a Southwest flight and typically I kept it to a one
hour flight
I’m not certain how they will stay in business long term with poor comfort seats and no amenities and a poisoned culture that was once fun and pleasant
They have noticeably restricted their lowest fare bucket for sale (claiming unavailable)
forcing folks to pay more for tickets in a higher fare bucket.Even now
the lowest fare bucket is typically overpriced shockingly so
It’s as bad as Delta pricing with an even worse inferior hard product than Delta
Yes even Spirit looks better with its big front seat
What on earth were they thinking?
Southwest is a shell of its former self.I feel so sorry for the hardworking passionate folks working the flights.They too must feel gutted what the company has done to itself
@ nsx at FlyerTalk
Absolutely correct, malicious compliance is the reason. The crews are obviously not happy with the current incompetents in the front office and are having their say.
This is no longer the policy. You can move after takeoff.
It’s nice to see SW give Frontier some competition.
Pretty sure we should blame activist investors pushing anti-consumer policies and management for being their mercenaries, not flight attendants, but this is View from the (Right) Wing, so… bash the union, I guess. *sigh*
Never buy any airfare on any airline labeled “Basic” if you have expectations of being treated well.