Southwest Airlines announced September 26 it will not have assigned seats available until early 2026.
Mandatory Credit: Gary Hershorn
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Southwest reveals when and how it will get rid of open seating
Southwest Airlines’ substantial changes to its business and boarding process are coming – but not for a while. Open seating isn’t going away for more than a year. The airline said on Thursday that its passengers will be able to book a reserved seat in late 2025 and those seats will start to become available on flights in early 2026.

