Starting Jan 27, 2026, Southwest’s getting rid of open seating. Everyone will have assigned seats, but boarding’s still gonna be unique they’ll use the WILMA method (window, middle, aisle).
So, window seats board first, then middle, then aisle, starting from the back. Perks like status, fare type, or credit card will still get you earlier groups (1 or 2).
Basically, even with assigned seats, people up front might still board late and lose bin space. Oh, and there’ll be a new “Priority Boarding” you can buy last-minute. Gonna be interesting to see how this plays out.
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