Southwest ends open seating after 54 years. We took the last flight
ON THE PACIFIC OCEAN — The 112 passengers on this ship Southwest Airlines The red-eye flight from Honolulu to Los Angeles was the last flight in the airline’s more than 54-year history as the airline struggled for space on the plane.
Before dawn Tuesday, Southwest ended its quirky (or anxiety-provoking, depending on the passenger) open seating policy in favor of assigned seats to all customers, as the carrier that prided itself on marching to its own drum looked more like its rivals under pressure to raise revenue.
The change means all Southwest passengers will know exactly where to sit before boarding, and some will pay more than $70 per leg for a new, spacious seat at the front. Prices vary.
CNBC flew on the last open-seat flight and hopped on one of the first flights with seat assignments to talk to passengers and crew about how they felt about the change. His feelings were mixed.
“It’s delayed, to be honest,” said Lisa Tate, 33, a Honolululu teacher who traveled to Atlanta via Las Vegas on Monday. “I love the reassurance that I can sit with my loved ones. It makes it less stressful.”
Vicki Economou, 68, who lives in Houston and is in the process of retiring from running a family restaurant, thought differently. “They’re just like everyone else now and there’s nothing that separates them,” he said.
Economou said after years of loyalty to Southwest, he may consider flying with other airlines because he doesn’t want to pay for seats.
“I’m really not happy about it,” he said. “I think there are people who are starving for money.”
‘If you can’t beat them, join them’
Several Southwest flight attendants in Los Angeles said they were relieved by the change. One of them told CNBC that she was so happy she wanted to cry because it was stressful for the crew to have customers pacing up and down the aisle looking for seats.
Other airline employees greeted the last passengers sitting in the open seats with applause, offered them coffee, and distributed souvenir bag tags and other souvenirs.
Southwest has been training its employees for months, including recommending clear announcements reminding customers how boarding will work, especially in the early stages of designated seating.
Digital boarding screens showing two lanes are already installed and will replace metal bollards at airports to inform passengers when they can board according to the new boarding pattern.
A new Southwest Airlines boarding sign at Los Angeles International Airport went into effect on January 27, 2026.
Leslie Josephs/CNBC
Until Tuesday, Southwest was the last U.S. airline to operate flights with an open seating policy, meaning passengers can choose the seat they want once boarding. Flyers will be given an A, B or C group and then a number to line up at the door, and the higher the boarding group and number, the better their chances of getting an aisle or window seat.
The demise of open seating is a casualty of today’s consumers, who Southwest executives say are looking for more certainty about where to sit as the airline’s once Texas-only network now stretches from Hawaii to Costa Rica.
Market research found that 80 percent of Southwest customers preferred an assigned seat, CEO Bob Jordan told analysts in July 2024 when the change was announced.
The change in seating policy also comes after pressure from investors who want the airline to benefit from fares and match rivals’ profit margins.
American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, Spirit Airlines and United Airlines collected $12.4 billion in seating fees from 2018 to 2023, according to the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations report In 2024.
That’s not the only policy Southwest has changed. Less than a year ago, the airline ended its “two bags fly free” policy for all passengers and began charging for checked bags. Baggage fees alone saved US carriers $5.5 billion in the first nine months of 2025, according to the Department of Transportation.
As with other airlines, there are exceptions for big spenders across the board. Those with certain credit cards, elite status or purchasing the most expensive tickets can choose the best seats by waiving some fees.
Some of the first passengers to fly with assigned seats on Southwest Airlines on January 27, 2026, the new policy’s start day.
Leslie Josephs/CNBC
“This shows Southwest basically saying, if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em, and I actually think that would be a positive move for Southwest,” said Henry Harteveldt, founder of travel consultancy Atmosphere Research Group. “This is a positive move both for travelers’ desires and for Southwest’s revenue and profitability. The lack of assigned seats is one reason Southwest has a hard time attracting more frequent travelers and poaching customers from other airlines.”
With the boarding race over, Southwest investors think they’ve won. The stock is up more than 26% in the past 12 months through Tuesday’s close, more than any other airline.
Southwest reports fourth-quarter results and 2026 forecasts Wednesday afternoon; Wall Street expects Southwest to triple its earnings this year to $3.19 per share, according to estimates compiled by LSEG.
Southwest says its new ventures will likely add $4.3 billion to its earnings before interest and taxes this year to guess Last October, $1 billion of that figure came from seat assignments at the front of the plane and new seats with extra legroom.
Southwest’s CEO was also optimistic.
“Because the dedicated seating and the extra legroom come into play and that has a lot of value, [results are] “We’re going to get better year by year,” Jordan told CNBC in a Dec. 10 interview.
Everyone’s on board
The airline’s original plastic boarding passes have long been replaced by digital boarding passes, but for years customers have been setting alerts to check in as early as possible (24 hours before the flight) to make sure they get the best possible queue.
Comedian Adam Mamawala’s Southwest entrance alarm went off during a set in September 2022.
“I’ll tell you why,” he said said audience. “I fly home to Southwest tomorrow at 8:10 sharp,” he said. “Do you think I’ll get into Group C just because I’m performing? Are you kidding? I’m registering right now.” He informed the audience that he had acquired the A51 and the crowd cheered. (He said he missed the Southwest entrance during a show last year and doesn’t want that to happen again.)
The assigned seats are the latest in a series of major policy changes announced by Southwest, which carries more customers in the United States than any other airline, in the past two years.
The last Southwest Airlines passengers to fly without assigned seats line up at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu on January 26, 2026.
Leslie Josephs/CNBC
Southwest reached a deal with activist investor Elliott Investment Management in 2024; Elliott Investment Management had called for management changes, noting in a presentation that the carrier has long avoided restrictive basic economy tickets, baggage fees, premium items and seat assignments that are now airline industry standards. Elliott declined to comment.
But the airline may have some growing problems as customers adapt to the changes.
Mamawala said he has become a “loyal Delta man” as he now flies the carrier more frequently and American Express Card that grants lounge access at LaGuardia Airport.
But it still flies southwest occasionally.
“Frankly, I am surprised that so many Southwest devotees seem to be heartbroken,” he said. “We are moving from chaos to order.”
— CNBC’s Erin Black contributed to this article.
