The world of flying with Southwest is about to change for good on January 27th, 2026, because the airline will now have assigned seating for all of its flights.

Many people are still reeling over this change, and we know it’s going to take some time for us to get used to it as well. To help make the switch, we’ve broken down everything you need to know about the new seating options. While there still isn’t first class or business class, there are now three different types of seats on your flight, and it’s important you know the difference between them so you can choose the best one for you!

Standard Seat

Starting on January 27th, when you fly with Southwest, you need to pick your seat, or it will be assigned for you. If you don’t want to pay anything extra, you’ll find yourself sitting in a Standard Seat. These are standard legroom seats located in the back of the cabin, mostly all behind the emergency exit rows.

If you’ve flown with Southwest before, these are going to be most similar to the seats you remember sitting in. Now, depending on what fare level you choose, it will affect what seat is chosen for you/what seat you choose. Don’t worry — we’ll go over it in full later!

Preferred Seats

If you don’t need any extra legroom but you don’t want to be at the back of the aircraft, you’ll want to book a Preferred Seat.

These will be located in front of the emergency exit rows (but not IN them), minus the first few rows of seats at the very front of the plane. These are great for people who don’t mind paying a little extra to get off their plane faster when they land.

Extra Legroom Seat

Finally, we’ve got the most expensive option, which is the Extra Legroom Seat. These seats offer “A roomier experience with more legroom to stretch out, at the front of the cabin and near the exit rows, with up to five additional inches of extra legroom compared to Standard and Preferred seats,” according to Southwest. You’ll also get earlier access to bin space, enhanced snacks, and complimentary premium beverages.

While Southwest isn’t calling this first class or business class, considering it’s the most expensive option and it comes with extra special offerings, it’s basically Southwest’s equivalent of those tiers. If you choose one of these seats, you’ll be seated in the exit rows, or in the first few rows of the aircraft.

New Fare Bundles

Southwest has also introduced new fare bundles: Basic, Choice, Choice Preferred, and Choice Extra. There’s a lot to go through here, but we’ll walk you through it tier by tier, starting with the cheapest and going to the most expensive.

Basic

With Basic, you will get the following:

• A Standard seat (all other seat types cost extra)
• You will board last, unless you’d like to pay extra for Priority Boarding
• A Checked bag will cost extra
• You will get 2X fare on Rapid Rewards points
• Your flight credits will expire after 6 months (they are non-tranferrable)
• If you need a refund, you will get a Non-transferable Flight Credit
• You can change your flight if you pay extra for a fare upgrade
• There are no fees to cancel
• Free in-flight entertainment
• A premium drink and wifi will cost extra

Choice

With Choice, you will get the following:

• A Standard seat you select at booking (all other seat types cost extra)
• General boarding, unless you’d like to pay extra for Priority Boarding
• A Checked bag will cost extra
• You will get 6X fare on Rapid Rewards points
• Your flight credits will expire after 12 months that is transferable
• Changes to your flight are available, but a fee may apply
• There are no fees to cancel
• Free Same-day standby
• Free Same-day change
• Free in-flight entertainment
• A premium drink and wifi will cost extra

Choice Preferred

With Choice Preferred, you will get the following:

• A Preferred or Standard seat you select at booking (an Extra Legroom seat will cost extra)
• Early General boarding, unless you’d like to pay extra for Priority Boarding
• A Checked bag will cost extra
• You will get 10X fare on Rapid Rewards points
• Your flight credits will expire after 12 months that is transferable
• Your flight is refundable
• Changes to your flight are available, but a fee may apply
• There are no fees to cancel
• Free Same-day standby
• Free Same-day change
• EarlyBird Check-in is available
• Free in-flight entertainment
• Priority Lane and Express Lane
• A premium drink and wifi will cost extra

Choice Extra

With Choice Extra, you will get the following:

• Any seat you’d like on board, booked ahead of your flight
• Early boarding, but Priority Boarding will cost extra
• 2 free checked bags
• You will get 14X fare on Rapid Rewards points
• Your flight credits will expire after 12 months that is transferable
• Your flight is refundable
• Changes to your flight are available, but a fee may apply
• There are no fees to cancel
• Free Same-day standby
• Free Same-day change
• Priority Boarding, A1-A15
• Free in-flight entertainment
• Priority Lane and Express Lane
• Premium Drink
• Wifi will cost extra

Boarding Process

With these new tiers, the boarding process has also changed for everyone on the airplane. It’ll depend on a few different factors, but this diagram below really breaks things down.

• Groups 1 and 2 (Earliest Boarding): must be in a Choice Extra seat, an Extra Legroom seat, an A-List Preferred member who selected their seat at the time of booking, and A-List Members who booked an Extra Legroom seat
• Groups 3-5: Choice Preferred customers, A-List members in a Preferred or Standard seat, and Rapid Rewards Credit Cardmembers
• Groups 6-8: Passengers in Choice or Basic seats

Basically, if you want to be one of the first to board, you’ll need to spend extra money — if you don’t care when you board AND don’t care where you sit, a Basic fare in a standard seat is a good choice.

Looking for more recent travel news? Check out our posts below!

We’ll be sure to keep you updated on all these changes, and others that hit the aviation industry this year, so stay tuned to DFB!

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How do you feel about these changes? Tell us in the comments!