The American low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines will end its policy of allocating free seats to its passengers.
While seat allocation on Southwest flights has operated on a “first come, first served” basis until now, the airline will discontinue this policy.
Southwest, long known for its inclusive policy towards its passengers, who could reserve any seat free of charge, has just announced the end of this policy starting this month.
Starting January 27, passengers traveling on Southwest flights must reserve their seats in advance, with fares varying according to seat location. Seats at the front and those offering extra legroom will be more expensive than others.
The new policy adopted by Southwest will also affect its boarding system, which previously operated on a three-group system based on passenger check-in order.
A new boarding policy
Southwest Airlines will implement a new zone-based boarding process to speed up passenger seating.
With the exception of passengers with disabilities, passengers who have booked higher-priced seats will board first.