Southwest Airlines will switch to assigned seats on Jan. 27, 2026, the airline announced. Seat assignments will go on sale July 29, 2025.

Starting July 29, customers can begin booking tickets with seat assignments for flights departing January 27, 2026.

Elliott Management is driving Southwest's transformation with revenue updates, seat selection, and cost changes to boost efficiency. Read more on LUV stock's Buy rating.

After announcing last summer that it would transition away from its defining policy in which passengers picked a seat once they were on the plane, the Dallas carrier shared plans to introduce assigned seating on Jan. 27, 2026. Tickets for such seats are set to be available for purchase on July 29.

Southwest, the busiest airline serving Las Vegas, has a new pricing tier that costs about $30 more a flight, but adds new benefits for passengers. VIEW E-EDITION 99¢ for 6 mos