Southwest has made several major changes in how its flights are operated from a customer-facing standpoint.
DALLAS — Southwest Airlines is going through an unprecedented period of transformation in the Dallas-based company’s history.
Over the last year, activist investor Elliott Management has taken an increasingly bigger role in the company – including on the Southwest board – and Southwest recently announced mass layoffs for the first time ever.
Also, Southwest has made several major changes in how its flights are operated from a customer-facing standpoint, including Tuesday’s announcement that checked bags will no longer fly for free, with a few exceptions.
Here’s a list of every major change Southwest has made:
Assigned seating: In July 2024, Southwest announced it will move to assigned seating. The airline’s open seating policy has long been a hallmark of the Dallas airline. But Southwest officials said their consumer research found that most customers preferred assigned seating. So instead of boarding a flight by line position, and then picking any open seat, Southwest travelers will have an assigned seat number like other airlines. Southwest hasn’t announced a start date for the assigned seating.
Premium seating: Also announced in July 2024 was Southwest’s plan to offer premium seating for the first time. Southwest has not had a class seating system, like other major airlines, although Southwest does have a system of priority boarding. Under the new premium seating option, travelers will have the option of upgrading to a cabin area with additional legroom.
Redeye flights: Southwest began offering redeye flights for the first time in February 2025. The company rolled out the offering in five initial markets: Las Vegas to Baltimore and Orlando; Los Angeles to Baltimore and Nashville; and Phoenix to Baltimore.
Bags don’t fly free: Southwest will now charge travelers for their first and second checked bags, starting May 28, according to a press release Tuesday. Rapid Rewards A-List Preferred Members and customers who are flying business select will still get the standard two free checked bags, Southwest officials said. A-list members will get one free checked bag, and Rapid Rewards Credit Card members will get credit for one checked bag.
Flights available on Expedia: Among the changes announced Tuesday was that Southwest flights are now available on Expedia. Most airlines have been available on the travel website, with Southwest being one of the holdouts.
Corporate layoffs: The bag policy change came on the heels of Southwest announcing its first mass layoffs in company history in February. About 1,700 employees at Southwest’s Dallas headquarters lost their jobs in the cuts.