Southwest to have assigned seating

[Marrila]

I still think it's foolish, especially going TO your destination to not have enough clothing/medicines for the first 24 hours.

When I'm traveling on business, I can get 5-6 days worth of clothes in my carry on. I get two free checked bags (up to 70#) with Delta. I still just use the carry on. No worries about a bag not making a flight, no waiting around for bags to come out at baggage claim.

Isn't a bag allowance of #70 first class? And I think that comes along with priority handling bag tags.
So if you like lugging bags onboard it's fine, plenty of overhead space. If you decide to check bags you have a helpful extra benefit. Either way is pretty nice.
Most passengers usually do with somewhat less.

 

[gmi3804]

I haven't checked a domestic bag since 2013, and that's just because I took a jar of olive salad back from New Orleans for my brother-in-law.

My proudest carry-on-only trip: Weekend wedding in LA (suit/tie), to 10 days in Kauai (beach wear), then to a 7-day business meeting in Las Vegas (business casual). Yes, I did have access to laundry in Kauai, but still....

YOU CAN DO IT!

 

[sam_gordon]

Isn't a bag allowance of #70 first class? And I think that comes along with priority handling bag tags.
So if you like lugging bags onboard it's fine, plenty of overhead space. If you decide to check bags you have a helpful extra benefit. Either way is pretty nice.
Most passengers usually do with somewhat less.

I've never booked a FC ticket. I've been upgraded a couple of times, but my status gets me the two checked bags (at 70#). Just came back from a family trip, and our (DW & my) heaviest bag was ~45#. We did check two bags between us, but had a lot of extra stuff (WAY overpacked).

And no, there is NOT "plenty of overhead space". If there was, there wouldn't be announcements that airlines will gate check your bags for free.

 

[Smugpugmug]

And no, there is NOT "plenty of overhead space". If there was, there wouldn't be announcements that airlines will gate check your bags for free.

Yeah on my last Southwest flight there were announcements that everyone in the late B/all of C group had to check their bags due to zero available overhead space.

 

[Marrila]

I've never booked a FC ticket. I've been upgraded a couple of times, but my status gets me the two checked bags (at 70#). Just came back from a family trip, and our (DW & my) heaviest bag was ~45#. We did check two bags between us, but had a lot of extra stuff (WAY overpacked).

And no, there is NOT "plenty of overhead space". If there was, there wouldn't be announcements that airlines will gate check your bags for free.

Plenty of space referred to FC. Still, if your status gets you onboard before the majority of passengers you are ahead of the game.

 

[Simba's Mom]

That'll mean fewer wheelchairs and walking wounded pre boards.

As a wheelchair user (and needer) on Southwest, I welcome that! On my last flight, when they announced that they were short of "pushers" to push wheelchairs down the boarding ramp, so that if you could walk please do so, you wouldn't believe the number of people who suddenly had a miracle and hustled themselves down the boarding ramp as fast as they could. The problem was that they just jumped out of their wheelchairs and left them, so that those few of us left (who really needed the wheelchair assistance) had to push the wheelchairs out of the way to get to the doorway.
Since I have 3 upcoming flights on Southwest (all of which have made changes since I booked), I'd also like to know when this starts.

 

[EACarlson]

I wonder if being able to select the assigned seat (regardless of whether it will be a regular seat, premium or exit row) is where SWA will re-capture the Early Bird seating fees.

And, then if no seat is “paid for/selected”, you would automatically get an assigned seat at the 24 hour check in time..

I’m a big fan of Early bird seating, so I feel I will be swapping one fee for a different one.

Will be purchasing flights for October 2025, which will include 3 grandkids. Will be interested to see how it works for newer FAA guidelines to ensure kids can be seated with adults. Hopefully there will an “interim” group of Southwest flight dates before we need to purchase ours-Ie an opportunity to get the kinks worked out of the system!

FAA recommendations currently. They haven't been entered as rules yet. What I hope happens is that you aren't allowed to book a passenger under the age cutoff without paying for a seat. Let's leave basic economy as what it is for adults only. I really wish Delta would do this. You want to save the money, you deal with all of the consequences.

 

[Brian Noble]

peace of mind in the event the checked bag ends up in South America

Ask me how I know that the Swedes are a thin people.

I go back and forth on carry-on only vs. checked. Some trips it is more convenient to avoid a checked bag. Others it is more convenient to avoid the cognitive load of thinking about finding space/managing the carry-on/etc. There is a lot to be said for hanging out in the lounge until the last minute and waltzing onto the plane 20 minutes prior to departure with no lines and no gate hassle. But I will pay for that by having to claim a bag on arrival.

As we often say around here: There is no pixie dust in transportation.

 

[TXDisneyFan1]

I wonder if the assigned seats have anything to do with seat saving....buy one EB, save 2 seats for family.

Sorry…I do this. It’s so expensive to add on early bird for the entire family both ways.

 

[Dis]

As a wheelchair user (and needer) on Southwest, I welcome that! On my last flight, when they announced that they were short of "pushers" to push wheelchairs down the boarding ramp, so that if you could walk please do so, you wouldn't believe the number of people who suddenly had a miracle and hustled themselves down the boarding ramp as fast as they could. The problem was that they just jumped out of their wheelchairs and left them, so that those few of us left (who really needed the wheelchair assistance) had to push the wheelchairs out of the way to get to the doorway.
Since I have 3 upcoming flights on Southwest (all of which have made changes since I booked), I'd also like to know when this starts.

I fly Southwest often and the number of wheelchair passengers has significantly increased over the years. Southwest airlines is truly magical as 75% of those passengers are miraculously cured during the flight and no longer need assistance when arriving.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

I will welcome this change. My DS29 has autism and is always anxious about having to sit next to strangers. I buy the Early Bird option so we don't have to worry about getting split up. If I can't justify paying extra, I am extremely vigilant about checking in exactly 24 hours before the flight to get a decent boarding position. We haven't been split up yet, but not having reserved seats gives my son an extra layer of anxiety that makes traveling a bit more difficult. It's nice to be able to show him the seating chart when I'm booking flights so he can see exactly where we'll be sitting and that he'll be in a row with only me and DH.

I have enjoyed the free baggage policy. When we picked younger DS up at college for the last time, we packed our smaller suitcases and nested them in bigger ones on the way out. Then DS used our bigger suitcases to pack up all his stuff, and each of us checked two free bags on the way home. It worked out nicely, although flying Southwest across the country wasn't the greatest. We missed having seatback TV's and the fun snack pantry on JetBlue!

 

[dez1978]

I still think it's foolish, especially going TO your destination to not have enough clothing/medicines for the first 24 hours.

When I'm traveling on business, I can get 5-6 days worth of clothes in my carry on. I get two free checked bags (up to 70#) with Delta. I still just use the carry on. No worries about a bag not making a flight, no waiting around for bags to come out at baggage claim.

This must be a man thing lol. my husband can go on any trip with just a personal item and a carry on. I can do like a 3 day trip that way... But any longer than that, nope. After 3 days, I have to bring my own shampoo/conditioner/hair dryer (hotel crap won't work for my super curly hair unless I wanna look like hargid) and all that won't fit with my clothes in a carry on.

Sorry…I do this. It’s so expensive to add on early bird for the entire family both ways.

I mean, as long as you don't get mad when it doesn't work out for you, have at it. But you can't pull this then get mad or refuse to let someone sit in the seat you saved.

 

[JulieBeeRN]

I really hope that they don't get rid of the free luggage and cancellation policy.

While not having an assigned seat always gives me a little anxiety, I feel like SW boarding process is less chaotic than Delta or United.

 

[VandVsmama]

I haven't checked a domestic bag since 2013, and that's just because I took a jar of olive salad back from New Orleans for my brother-in-law.

My proudest carry-on-only trip: Weekend wedding in LA (suit/tie), to 10 days in Kauai (beach wear), then to a 7-day business meeting in Las Vegas (business casual). Yes, I did have access to laundry in Kauai, but still....

YOU CAN DO IT!

We did the same just recently! All 4 of us (our 2 kids are teenage girls) went to Hawaii for a week using only carry on luggage.

It was so freeing and so much less stressful. Didn't have to stand at baggage claim forever waiting for our luggage, wondering if the bags made it on the plane. Basically walked off the plane and over to get a Lyft to the hotel and boom, all done!

 

[Ralph&Pam]

We always pirchase EBCI, so paying for assigned seating might not be any worse. I hope they do keep some form of assigned boarding numbers even though everyone will be heading to an assogned seat, and also keep the two free checked bags. On other carriers, I find the boarding process to be more chaotic than SW because so many travelers bunch up at the back of the boarding area trying to be first in line when their boarding group is finally called. At least with SW there is a clear ordering within each boarding group. Assigned seats should at least eliminate the issue of seat saving.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

I'll be glad to see the seat saving problem go away. Not sure where the acceptable cutoff is - buy one EB and save one seat for a travel partner? Buy one EB and save the 2 seats in the row? Or the situation we had on one flight (and the attendants refused to do anything about it), 2 mothers with EBs saving 6 rows of seats for a sports team of young teenagers traveling. And they didn't go to the back of the plane to save the 6 rows - they opted for the front, and got quite obnoxious about no one sitting in the seats. It shouldn't have been allowed, was absolutely rude, and got the flight off to a really poor start. An extreme example? Not sure......

At least the seat assignments will remove that issue on future flights.

 

[dez1978]

We did the same just recently! All 4 of us (our 2 kids are teenage girls) went to Hawaii for a week using only carry on luggage.

It was so freeing and so much less stressful. Didn't have to stand at baggage claim forever waiting for our luggage, wondering if the bags made it on the plane. Basically walked off the plane and over to get a Lyft to the hotel and boom, all done!

Ok, I could maybe be close to pulling that off if I decided not to care about my hair lol. Warm weather clothes don't take up much room. Other than Disney, most of trips tend to require hoodies and multiple layers. We go to Denver for football games quite a bit, and by the last 1/2 of the season, it's pretty chilly.

I am curious tho. For those of you who don't check bags, do you just use hotel toiletries? Or can you really get buy a whole week on those little travel size things of shampoo/conditioner?? Maybe this is just more of a problem for people with lots of curly hair lol.

 

[JulieBeeRN]

Yeah, the seat saving is out of control. Drives me nuts.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Ok, I could maybe be close to pulling that off if I decided not to care about my hair lol. Warm weather clothes don't take up much room. Other than Disney, most of trips tend to require hoodies and multiple layers. We go to Denver for football games quite a bit, and by the last 1/2 of the season, it's pretty chilly.

I am curious tho. For those of you who don't check bags, do you just use hotel toiletries? Or can you really get buy a whole week on those little travel size things of shampoo/conditioner?? Maybe this is just more of a problem for people with lots of curly hair lol.

We just did our 15 day Europe trip with just carry on (and small than U.S. standard size) and personal item only. We'll be doing the same for our 15 or 16 day whatever it is Japan trip. We did not want to have to worry about lugging too much around and issues with lost luggage. We are doing another cruise next March back in Europe which is about the same length trip of 15 or 16 days but that will be with checked luggage because of dress codes and some unique wear for excursions.

For Europe I packed multiple t-shirts and 2 jackets, one that was a thin fleece pull over and 1 that was a normal cotton style jacket. 2 pants and 2 capris. It actually ended up being slightly warmer than it normally would be in the various countries so the fleece pull over wasn't used as frequently as I thought it would be and I never needed my rain jacket nor umbrella I brought because it never rained but I will probably need that for Japan. Febreeze is a thing I always bring on my trips and I used that for the jackets every other wear just for freshness and washed the fleece one once when it needed it.

For Europe we did laundry in the sink in a few places which wasn't too difficult and did it when we knew it could be laid out dried during the day while we were out and about. We'll do the same for Japan although the scheduling of the days I think we'll have at least 1 less laundry time we can do. And yeah the caveat being personally for us we did laundry when it made sense to do so. We had weight limitations on international trips that do not apply mostly on domestic trips that severely limit things, Air France has been the most severe so far. Even on our Japan trip we had to pay extra on Zip Air in order to allow more weight for a carry on.

I brought my own body wash and shave gel but the rest was hotel toiletries. Yes it would be harder if you have hair that absolutely needs specific types of shampoo but you could consider looking at purchasing a bottle when you got to your destination if it was something readily available in most stores or consider using a portion of your quart size bag for two travel sized bottles of hair products if need be.

I could do a week easy with just carry on and personal item but it would depend on where I'm going if I choose that and domestically I can get by with larger carry on and personal item size.

 

[Mle8308]

Sorry…I do this. It’s so expensive to add on early bird for the entire family both ways.

Which is the problem. You are not supposed to save seats. If I were boarding and a seat was vacant that I wanted to sit in and someone said they were saving it for someone in a boarding group after me, I'd sit there - especially if I paid for EBCI. If you want to sit together in better seats, pay for it like the rest of us do. If the $25 is going to break your vacation budget....