Southwest Airlines

I used to like Southwest because it felt simple. Cheap fares, free bags, open seating, no games. Now it feels like everything is getting layered with fees and changes. Paying for bags, more expensive fares, and assigned seating on top of that. At some point it just stops feeling...

I keep seeing people say “just pay to pick your seat” and yeah… that works, but it also kind of defeats why a lot of us liked Southwest in the first place. If seat selection is basically adding 30% or more to the ticket, that’s not really a small upgrade anymore. It’s just a...

I booked a round trip Southwest flight from Baltimore to Phoenix back on January 21 and paid for Choice Preferred seats. I even upgraded both seats to the emergency exit row for extra legroom and got the confirmation email showing everything was set. Then two days before the...

Just had a frustrating experience with Southwest. Booked basic fare for me and my two kids. At check-in, seats were assigned and somehow my 4-year-old ended up 12 rows in front of me while my other kid and I were in the back of the plane. Tried calling support but sat on hold...

I’ve seen a lot of people saying the new Southwest setup is great because you don’t have to check in right at 24 hours anymore to get a good spot. I just tried using my 48-hour early seat selection benefit (through a credit card perk) and honestly it felt exactly the same, just...

During boarding on a DCA to Chicago Midway flight, the flight attendants got on the intercom and told everyone to put small bags under the seat in front of them. They said the plane was weight restricted, and if the overhead bins filled up they might have to start pulling people...

Had a confusing situation with Southwest and wondering if anyone else has experienced this. Our itinerary was Burbank → Denver → Colorado Springs, with the return being Colorado Springs → Las Vegas → Burbank. When we landed in Denver, we asked a Southwest gate agent if we could...

I came across an explanation from a Southwest employee about why they are strict about people not moving seats anymore. The short version is their system now assigns seats and calculates aircraft weight and balance ahead of time using multiple cabin zones. Because of that, if...

Had a small but funny moment on a recent Southwest flight. I was assigned a middle seat, and when I boarded I saw a pretty large guy already sitting in the window seat. I figured it was just one of those flights and sat down anyway. Right after I sat down, a flight attendant...

Had a pretty frustrating experience with Southwest at LaGuardia on March 6 and wondering if others have run into something similar. My itinerary was NYC (LGA) → Chicago Midway → Salt Lake City. The first flight was delayed due to weather, which I completely understand. After we...

Had a Southwest flight from Las Vegas to Denver last week where they made an announcement I’d never heard before. They told everyone not to put anything in the seatback pockets during takeoff or landing for safety reasons. They repeated it several times and even walked through...

Recently flew Southwest for the first time in years and the experience was pretty rough. Had a drunk passenger on one side and on the other side a person coughing loudly and saying they were sick but didn’t care because they wanted to party at the destination. Before takeoff,...

Been flying Southwest a lot as an A-Lister, mostly for business, and like many people I had figured out how to work their old policies pretty well. Things like refunds, price drops, and same day changes made it easy to adjust trips without much stress. Now that so much has...

On a Southwest flight right now and the seating rules are honestly confusing. One guy was the only passenger in an emergency exit row and moved from the aisle to the window seat. A flight attendant made him move back to the original seat even though the row was otherwise empty....

I saw a post from someone flying Southwest after the recent policy changes and honestly the whole thing sounded like a mess. They said boarding took about 30 minutes longer than usual and even people sitting near the front had their bags end up way in the back. On top of that,...

Flight from Austin to Chicago Midway on March 4 and the plane was only around 40% full. But somehow the last 10 rows were completely packed while plenty of seats in the front and middle were empty. Passengers could pay about $40 to move to a better seat, but it felt like people...

I saw this post from a Southwest flyer and honestly it made me laugh a bit. They said when the bins are full near their seat but clearly nobody sitting there owns the bags, they’ll start asking whose bag it is. If nobody claims it, they’ll pull it out and tell the flight...

So Southwest switched to assigned seating on Jan 27, 2026 and wow… what a miracle. All those mysterious preboard miracles we used to see? Gone. The folks who used to limp to the gate like they’d run a marathon at 5am are suddenly walking just fine. The giant crowds forming human...

We flew Southwest exclusively for 15 years. Love Field is 10 minutes from our house and it was just easy. When my kids were babies and toddlers, I never stressed about seating. We always got a row together. As they got older, I’d pay for EarlyBird just to be safe. No bag fees...

Saw this and it would have stressed me out too. Person got an email offering a credit if they switched flights. Ignored it. A few hours later, another email saying “thanks for changing your flight” with a $20 voucher. Flight moved from Friday evening to Thursday at 7am. They...

Maybe just bad luck, but all four of my flights were completely full. I’m ALP, CP, and a cardholder. Got Group 2 on every segment. Boarding order was preboard, priority and military, then Group 1. Pre and priority were about 15 to 20 people, Group 1 around 30 to 35. By the time...

I was A List Preferred for years and yeah, the open seating and free bags were great. But let’s be honest, a big reason a lot of us flew Southwest was the pricing. It used to be reasonable, even last minute. Lately though? The fares feel crazy. Flights that were around $240 a...

This honestly should have been the plan from day one. Cramming all the basic fares together in the back even when the plane is half empty never made much sense. Especially for an airline that used to be all about open seating. Good to see they’re automating it instead of making...