Southwest Assigned Seating Starts January 27, 2026

Southwest Airlines will retire its long running open seating ritual at the start of 2026, trading the familiar A, B, and C lines for assigned seats and eight numbered boarding groups on January 27, 2026. The change covers every Southwest flight departing that day and beyond, which means business travelers, families, and loyal Rapid Rewards members will all see new rules at booking and at the gate. Travelers who rely on early check in or paid boarding upgrades today will need to learn how the new fare bundles, elite tiers, and credit card perks translate into seat choices and boarding priority instead.

In practical terms, the Southwest assigned seating change will replace the A, B, and C open boarding process on January 27, 2026, with eight numbered boarding groups tied to seat location, fare type, and status, so travelers will choose seats earlier in the journey and line up in simpler lanes at the gate rather than around numbered metal posts.

What Is Changing On January 27, 2026

From January 27, 2026, Southwest flights will no longer use open seating. Instead, most customers will select seats during booking, and those choices will be honored on board rather than being first come, first served at the moment of boarding. Basic fares are the exception, because they will receive seat assignments at check in or at the gate unless status or credit card benefits apply.

At the same time, the airline will phase out its silver numbered stanchions in gate areas. A company briefing explains that beginning the evening of January 26, Southwest will start converting gates so that, by the morning of January 27, customers see two alternating boarding lanes with digital screens indicating which group is boarding instead of numbered posts by letter and position. Southwest expects it will take about 60 days to remove or cover the numbers on all remaining stanchions across its network.

The move is part of a broader suite of changes, marketed under the "SEATisfaction" banner, that also includes new premium seating options, refreshed fare bundles, and expanded Rapid Rewards and credit card perks.

How The New Boarding Groups Work

Today, Southwest boards in groups A, B, and C with numbered positions, and passengers line up by those numbers at the gate. Under the new system, that structure disappears. Instead, passengers will see eight boarding groups, numbered 1 through 8, that reflect a mix of seat location, fare, elite status, and Rapid Rewards credit card benefits.

According to Southwest's gate and boarding process briefing, Groups 1 and 2 will be reserved for A List Preferred members, travelers booked on the top tier Choice Extra fare, and anyone who has purchased an Extra Legroom seat or upgraded into one, including A List members who move into Extra Legroom seats within 48 hours of departure at no additional cost. These customers will be seated in the roomiest rows and will be among the first to board, preserving early access to overhead bin space.

Groups 3 through 5 will be filled by A List members traveling in Preferred or Standard seats, and by Rapid Rewards Credit Cardmembers who have not already been placed in an earlier group. Southwest confirms that cardholders will board with Group 5 at the latest if their fare, seat type, or elite status does not already qualify them for a lower group number.

Groups 6 through 8 will include travelers on Choice and Basic fares who did not receive earlier boarding based on other benefits. Basic customers in these groups will still have seat assignments, but they will be more likely to find themselves toward the back of the cabin or separated from preferred rows if they have not upgraded.

Priority Boarding will replace today's Upgraded Boarding options once assigned seating begins. The airline says customers will be able to buy Priority Boarding from 24 hours before departure, which will move them into earlier boarding groups when space is available. EarlyBird Check In and the existing Upgraded Boarding products end once flights with assigned seating start operating.

Seat Types And New Fare Bundles

Southwest is pairing assigned seating with new seat categories and fare names. Cabins will be divided into Standard, Preferred, and Extra Legroom seats, replacing the undifferentiated layout that existed under open seating.

Standard seats, mostly in the rear of the cabin, will offer the familiar legroom. Preferred seats will still have standard legroom but will sit closer to the front, which can make deplaning faster. Extra Legroom seats will be in the front rows and at exit rows, offering up to about five inches of additional pitch on some Boeing 737 700 aircraft, plus earlier bin access, extra snacks, and complimentary premium beverages on eligible flights.

Those seat types map to four updated fare bundles that travelers can buy now for trips on or after January 27, 2026. Basic, formerly Wanna Get Away, is the most restrictive, with a Standard seat assigned at check in and no changes allowed, although customers can pay to upgrade into a more flexible bundle if they need to modify plans. Choice, the successor to Wanna Get Away Plus, lets travelers pick a Standard seat at booking and keeps flexibility features such as transferable credits and same day changes. Choice Preferred, replacing Anytime, comes with Preferred seat selection at booking, earlier boarding, and refundability. Choice Extra, which takes over from Business Select, offers Extra Legroom seat selection at booking, earlier boarding in Groups 1 and 2, two free checked bags, and the highest earning rate for Rapid Rewards points.

For elite and credit card customers, the airline is layering in complimentary seat selection windows on top of these bundles. A List Preferred members can choose any available seat, including Extra Legroom, at booking for flights departing on or after January 27, 2026, and will board no later than Group 2. A List members can pick Preferred and Standard seats at booking and may upgrade to Extra Legroom seats for free within 48 hours of departure when space allows, boarding no later than Group 5.

Rapid Rewards Credit Cardmembers will also gain seat and boarding benefits, from Standard seats assigned within 48 hours of departure for Plus cardholders to Preferred or Extra Legroom options at booking for Priority and Performance Business holders, all paired with Group 5 or better boarding.

Gate Experience, Families, And Special Assistance

The assigned seating transition will change how Southwest gates look and feel on the day of travel. Instead of multiple lines wrapped around numbered posts, gates will use two alternating boarding lanes, with digital screens where available showing which group is boarding at that moment. There will also be a dedicated Preboarding and Priority Boarding area reserved for active duty military, customers who have purchased Priority Boarding, and those who qualify for preboarding due to disability or other needs.

Southwest says certain passengers needing special accommodations will be able to self identify digitally before their day of travel, and that special service requests such as wheelchair assistance will appear directly on their boarding passes. That should, in theory, give gate agents clearer information in advance and reduce the need for last minute conversations at the podium, although real world performance will depend on how consistently passengers and staff use the tools.

Families and small groups will see a more formal structure around staying together. Everyone on the same reservation of nine or fewer customers will be assigned to the same boarding group, which means traveling companions should board at the same time even if they hold different fares, as long as they are on one booking. For families on Basic fares who do not or cannot choose seats earlier, Southwest says it will still aim to seat children 13 and under next to at least one adult in the party, either through advance assignment or gate changes when the cabin is tight.

Customers who qualify for disability related preboarding will continue to do so under the new model, with Southwest directing them to its Help Center for detailed criteria, but their preboarding eligibility will now be reflected in digital records tied to their boarding passes as well.

Background, From Open Seating To Assigned Seats

For more than five decades, Southwest has been the major U.S. carrier that did not assign seats. Passengers checked in as early as possible, received a boarding group letter and number, lined up at metal stanchions marked in blocks of five, then claimed any open seat once they boarded, often jogging to their preferred rows. Products such as EarlyBird Check In and Upgraded Boarding sat on top of that system, selling earlier boarding positions rather than specific seats.

That approach helped cement Southwest's brand identity and, in some studies, proved efficient for boarding times, but it also created anxiety for travelers who worried about finding seats together or avoiding middle seats, and it limited the airline's ability to charge for differentiated seating. As the carrier adds basic economy style fares, extra legroom seating, and new cardmember benefits, it has increasingly pointed to assigned seating as a necessary step for matching revenue tools used by competitors while still promising a simplified structure compared with other legacies.

How Travelers Should Prepare

For trips that depart on or before January 26, 2026, nothing changes; Southwest will continue to use open seating and today's boarding options. For travel starting January 27, 2026, however, travelers should plan around three main ideas.

First, seat selection will usually happen during booking, not at the gate. Travelers who care about sitting together, avoiding middle seats, or securing extra legroom should choose fare bundles and seat types when they purchase tickets, and should log in as soon as booking opens if they want the best choice of rows. Basic fare buyers need to treat their tickets as more constrained, because their seats will be assigned late unless they receive status or card benefits, and change options are limited.

Second, boarding priority will now be a function of seat location, fare bundle, elite tier, and card status rather than purely check in time, so frequent travelers may want to run the numbers on whether moving up a bundle or adding a card benefit justifies the cost in exchange for earlier groups and better seats.

Third, families and travelers needing assistance should make sure the new systems have the right information. Keeping everyone on a single reservation of nine or fewer will keep boarding groups aligned, and using Southwest's tools to flag wheelchair or other support needs in advance will help those requests show up on boarding passes and in gate systems rather than being added in a rush at the airport.

For long time Southwest loyalists, January 27, 2026, will mark the end of an era, but for travelers who have avoided the airline because of the scramble for seats, assigned seating may make Southwest feel more familiar, provided they understand how the new boarding groups and fare bundles work before they arrive at the gate.

Sources

• Assigned Seating, Customer Enhancements
• A Closer Look at Our New Gate Experience and Boarding Process
• THE CHOICE IS YOURS! SEATISFACTION(TM) IS COMING TO SOUTHWEST AIRLINES
• Southwest Begins Booking Assigned Seats For Future Flights
• I Tried Southwest's New Extra Legroom Seats