Southwest Airlines recently announced the end of its open seating policy. Assigned seats are the policy now, beginning with travel booked now for Jan. 27, 2026, and beyond will feature assigned seating.

Southwest Airlines has officially begun selling assigned seats, though the open seating policy will remain in place on flights for a few more months.

You can now officially book Southwest Airlines flights with an assigned seat. The carrier just started selling flights that will depart on (and after) Jan. 27, 2026 — the day it plans to bid farewell to open seating and welcome in its long-discussed assigned and extra-legroom seating setup.