Southwest Airlines faces protest from passengers over new seating policy
Dallas-based Southwest Airlines has come under fire from travellers after making major changes to its procedures a month ago.
Southwest changed its open seating policy on January 27, now requiring passengers to select their seats or sit in specific locations.
Passengers have shared their disappointment regarding the new policy on social media. They say they have trouble reading seat numbers, struggle with the board flow and are unable to spread out on planes.
“We’re always looking for ways to improve our customer experience to continue providing the seamless and reliable journey customers have come to expect from Southwest,” a spokesperson for the company told Fox News Digital on Thursday in response to a request for comment.
“Southwest’s employees deliver exceptional reliability and exceptional hospitality in the airline industry,” the spokesperson stated. “We look forward to continuing to provide our customers with friendly, reliable and low-cost travel.”
Passengers are calling out Southwest Airlines over seating complications after the company ended its open-seating policy.
“Yeah, it’s as bad as everyone is saying,” wrote one user in the “r/SouthwestAirlines” forum on Reddit.
The person further said, “[I]Paid for emergency row seat. There are two people next to me. There is only one person in all the other rows (same class or lower) around me. “Even after paying for the seats, we still can’t move.”
A different user wrote, “I’m on a flight right now, and it’s about 25% full (maybe less). They said people can’t change seats for weight balance reasons. I’m in the entire row. The row in front of me is empty.”
“It’s not that bad,” said another person. “You just have to pay more.”
In the same forum, someone posted, “No one is saying a word about the newly appointed seats. This is a worrying thing [number]. Such customers do not know how seat numbers are written or how to read them.”
“We are always looking for ways to improve our customer experience to continue providing the seamless and reliable travel journey customers have come to expect from Southwest,” the company told Fox News Digital. (Typhoon Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The passenger said he saw about 15 people sitting in the wrong seat, as well as other passengers asking for help finding their row.
The same user said, “At first I was thinking most people are just idiots, then it came to my mind that these are probably regular customers of SWA (Southwest Airlines) who have never dealt with seat numbers.”
“It’s shocking that it’s this difficult for anyone.”
A different Redditor wrote, “I’ve flown primarily SW, but I still know how to find my seat on an aeroplane.” It’s not hard. Haha. Even when seating wasn’t assigned, the seats had numbers. It’s surprising it’s this challenging for anyone.”
Still another person said, “This is probably true and ridiculous to consider, because the seats have always been numbered before.”
One person posted on
“For your convenience, we are offering seat options that allow you to choose the experience you want,” the airline’s website says. “This includes options to choose where you want to sit and upgrade to a seat with extra legroom.” (iStock)
“Hey @SouthwestAir, please return to your open seat. Sincerely, that’s everyone [FLIES] Southwest,” said a woman on X.
Under Southwest’s “Assigned seating with premium options” page, the airline advises customers, “Choose your seat. Enhance your experience.”
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It also says, “For your convenience, we are introducing seat options that allow you to choose the experience you want. This includes the option to choose where you want to sit and upgrade to an extra legroom seat, giving you more choices when travelling with us.”
