Southwest Airlines has spent the past few months getting rid of all the things that used to make it unique.

For about a decade, I flew Southwest because it offered reasonable prices, no fees for checked bags, and no assigned seats. Because I flew once or twice a month, I had A-List status in the airline’s Rapid Rewards loyalty program, so I was guaranteed to board in the top-third of customers using the airline’s old system.

Under that system, the airline used A, B, and C boarding groups with numbers assigned from 1-60. You could pay to get an A 1-15 spot, and the airline charged for people to be checked in early, and top-tier loyalty members were guaranteed to board between A and B, even if they had a lower position on their ticket.

The problem is that the airline also offered pre-boarding, where people needing assistance can board before any of the assigned groups. Mostly, that meant allowing people in wheelchairs to board early.

That created an interesting problem that I witnessed many times.

“On one Southwest Airlines Tampa flight, 30 passengers boarded early and got better seats for free because they said they needed wheelchair assistance. Then they walked off the plane and all the way out the terminal themselves on arrival. They didn’t all need a wheelchair, but cracked a code,” Gary Leff wrote at View From the Wing.

The airline’s new boarding system will fix that problem.

Southwest Airlines had a perceived problem

Realistically, passengers had no way to know if people actually needed a wheelchair or boarding assistance. But if you paid for, or earned, an early boarding spot, it was frustrating to see people board ahead of you who later did not appear to actually need that advantage.

“Southwest lets passengers pick their seats on a first-come, first-served basis. You board earlier if you buy the most expensive tickets, if you’re a frequent traveler, or if you pay for early boarding. Or if you fake the need for a wheelchair,” Leff wrote.

  • That’s why Southwest Airlines has more wheelchair passengers than any other airline.
  • It drives up the airline’s costs (they pay for the wheelchair service!) and cheats other customers out of better seats. Those higher costs also mean higher average airfares.
  • And it makes a tremendous spectacle: the “Jetbridge Jesus” flight, where passengers come on with a wheelchair to get the best seats, and miraculously walk without any assistance when the flight is over.
  • This is terrible for passengers who really need wheelchairs, with people who don’t need them taking up the scarce service. Those with a real need are forced to wait longer.

Airlines are required to provide assistance and cannot question passengers who self-identify as needing help.

“When a passenger with a disability requests assistance from an airline to move through the airport, the airline is required to promptly provide the requested assistance. This assistance may be guide assistance for an individual who is blind or wheelchair assistance for an individual with a mobility impairment. To receive such assistance, the passenger must self-identify to airline staff at the airport as the person with a disability needing this service,” according to U.S. Department of Transportation guidelines.

As someone who flew Southwest once or twice a month for years, I’ve repeatedly heard gate agents explain that they cannot question a passenger’s request for assistance under federal rules.

Southwest Airlines makes a change

Southwest, however, will solve its perception and seat-saving problems later this month when it moves to assigned seating. That will also solve a second problem the airline faced, where one member of a part would board early and then save seats for family or friends.

“This all ends January 27, when assigned seats begin on Southwest. No more scheming. No more strategizing and winding up with extra value from an empty middle seat next to you. It’s all based on luck of which seats other passengers assign in the cabin in advance,” View From the Wing reported.

Southwest Airlines is now charging for seat assignments.

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Southwest Airlines’ changes are about the bottom line

Southwest Airlines did not start selling assigned seating and charging for bags to make things better for customers. The end of people being angry over pre-boarding and people saving seats are byproducts of the airline making changes in order to raise its bottom line.

“In 2026, we expect to recognize even greater benefits from our portfolio of Southwest-specific initiatives, including a full year of revenue from bag fees. We expect to deliver more than $1 billion of incremental EBIT from assigned and extra legroom seating in 2026 and hit a full run rate of approximately $1.5 billion in 2027,” Southwest CEO Robert Jordan said during the airline’s third-quarter earnings call.

Southwest’s changes do come with some risks.

“What’s notable is the fact basic economy ticket sales tanked after they made changes in May, and are just now rebounding,” Katy Nastro, travel expert at Going, told Customer Experience Dive. “The next half of the year will give us a better gauge into how all of these changes have played out, but so far, their timing could not have been worse amid a soft market.”

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She pointed out that early results were not good after the first change, charging for checked bags, was rolled out.

“One month of selling a ‘basic economy’ product they saw their revenue per available seat mile decline by .5 percentage point, and that’s with charging for bags,” Nastro said. “While they say bag fees are looking healthy, with softer demand, they’ve likely had to discount base fares which means they aren’t making pure profit from bag fees.”

Southwest Airlines says it’s on track

Jordan and other Southwest Executives have been insistent that its changes are working.

“We quickly implemented many new product attributes and enhancements, and the results are showing—we delivered a profitable quarter, with both unit revenues and unit costs performing better-than-anticipated, are reaffirming our full year 2025 EBIT guidance, and expect meaningful margin expansion in the fourth quarter,” he shared in the company’s third-quarter earnings release.

Southwest shared some key revenue numbers

  • Net income of $54 million, or $0.10 income per diluted share
  • Net income, excluding special items1, of $58 million, or $0.11 income per diluted share
  • Record third quarter operating revenues of $6.9 billion
  • Delivered results ahead of the company’s expectations, driven by both better-than-anticipated unit revenues and unit costs
  • Returned $439 million to Shareholders through a combination of share repurchases and dividends
  • Launched the sale of assigned and extra legroom seating for flights beginning January 27, 2026, with the volume and composition of initial bookings in line with expectations
  • Reaffirming full year 2025 earnings before interest and taxes, excluding special items guidance range of $600 million to $800 million

The airline, however, risks angering the public and social media influencer response has been mixed.

“Some influencers see it as a necessary step to enhance customer experience, increase brand appeal, and boost revenue by aligning with the top US airlines. They believe offering more seating options will attract a broader customer base. However, others criticize the change, arguing it may undermine the airline’s efficiency and stray away from its legacy of innovative boarding practices,” Smitarani Tripathy, Social Media Analyst at GlobalData, told Travel and World Tour.

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