Southwest Airlines used to be known for its customer service. In fact, like many people, I preferred to fly Southwest because it didn’t nickel-and-dime like other airlines, and it offered unique options like free checked bags and open seating.

Unfortunately, Southwest has abandoned a great many of the features that used to make it fantastic. Not only that, but it also seems to be going out of its way to adopt policies that are likely to anger some of its most loyal and committed fans.

In fact, multiple reports in February highlighted a huge problem with its new policy, which is already making customers very upset. 

Southwest’s seating rules are not going over well with customers.

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Customers are mad about this new Southwest policy

A new Southwest policy is understandably causing a lot of anger among flyers, Aviation A2Z reported. 

According to multiple reports, Southwest is taking its new assigned seating rules to a ridiculous extreme by not allowing customers to change their seats, even when there are open rows on almost-empty flights. Specifically, as Aviation A2Z explained:

  • Flyers on Flight 129 from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport to St. Louis Lambert International Airport were reportedly not permitted to change their seats, despite the fact that there were multiple empty rows on the plane.
  • On another reported flight that had just 26 passengers aboard, six customers indicated that they had to remain seated in the same row, and flight attendants reportedly made three different in-flight announcements warning customers that they were not allowed to move seats.
  • Customers who had been seated in the middle rows reportedly were scolded if they tried to move within their row to the window seat. 
  • Some customers said they were not allowed to put a child riding in their lap in an empty seat next to them.

This Southwest Airlines policy is far stricter than most airlines’ rules

While it’s pretty typical for airlines to charge for seat selection, it is definitely not the norm for carriers to prohibit people from moving seats, even when there are empty rows on a plane.

“Southwest is an outlier,” wrote Gary Leff for View from the Wing. “Southwest Airlines doesn’t just assign seats and sell seats; they’ve been enforcing seat assignments like nobody else.”

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By contrast, View from the Wing highlighted the policies of other airlines, including Delta Air Lines, which offer passengers much more flexibility.

The Delta rule, for example, states, “If you and another customer agree to swap seats, please try to do so before departure whenever possible,” and goes on to explain that “If you’d like to move to an unoccupied seat within your ticketed cabin/seat product during the flight, please ask a flight attendant — changes are at the crew’s discretion and depend on safety considerations.”

“Southwest’s assigned seating is punitive,” Leff said. “They went from most flexible to most draconian overnight. They want to enforce revenue protection — afraid that passengers might somehow get more value than they’ve paid for, and skip ponying up if there’s a chance they can do better on board.”

Will Southwest Airlines stick to this policy?

Southwest is understandably getting a lot of backlash from the change, and these may be just bumps in the road as the airline figures out how to manage its new assigned seating policy. 

The Airline did respond in February to some of the criticism it had received. “As we’ve transitioned from open seating to assigned seating, the feedback we’ve received has been invaluable,” Executive Vice President Tony Roach told the Dallas Morning News.

However, the airline’s comments primarily addressed bin space, not the enforcement of seating rules that require passengers to stay squished, just because they didn’t pay for an upgrade.

Related: Here’s how customers get overcharged at airports