Southwest Airlines’ famous non assigned seat policy is now history.
The longtime holdout had operated a first-come, first-served seating policy but this has now come to an end with assigned seating officially starting today.
Its just one of a number of fundamental changes the airline has made in line with every other major carrier.
Southwest claims it is a move driven by customer demand.
“Assigned seating unlocks new opportunities for our customers – including the ability to select Extra Legroom seats – and removes the uncertainty of not knowing where they will sit in the cabin. This is an important step in our evolution,” said Tony Roach, EVP of customer and brand at Southwest.”
However, many Southwest fliers were in favor of the laid back ‘free-for-all’ policy.
It has progressively brought in other major changes in recent months in an effort to improve the bottom line.
It added extra-legroom seats for a fee, and also scrapped the across the board ‘bags fly free’ policy for all.
Today also sees the start of a more restrictive policy for plus-size travelers.
