Southwest Airlines implemented assigned seating on Tuesday, marking one of the biggest changes for the low-cost airline's ticketing and boarding practices since the business was founded.
All Southwest flights from Tuesday on will board passengers to assigned seats based on group numbers. The company is phasing out its old A-B-C boarding groups "to maintain an efficient and orderly boarding approach that’s optimized for assigned seating."
Under the new system, passengers' ability to select certain seats will depend on their fare type — similar to other airlines.
Purchase options will include standard, preferred and extra legroom seats.
Southwest says its last flight with open seating left Honolulu, Hawaii, on Monday night and landed in Los Angeles early on Tuesday.
Two simultaneous flights on Tuesday were the first to use assigned seats: one from San Juan, Puerto Rico to Orlando, Florida and one from Manchester, New Hampshire to Chicago's Midway Airport.
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In a separate change, Southwest will now charge for an extra seat for those passengers who need more space.
Starting Jan. 27, passengers who “encroach upon the neighboring seat” and need extra space will be required to purchase an additional ticket that might not be refunded.
