Major changes are coming to Southwest Airlines soon — and fans are NOT happy about the change.

Starting on January 27th, Southwest will require travelers to choose a seat assignment, or one will be assigned for them. This is a stark difference from the airlines’ long-standing “open seating” policy, which essentially allowed anyone to sit in any seat on the plane when boarding. We asked you for your thoughts on the changes, and you did not hold back!

What’s Changing?

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 likely the most similar to the seats you’re familiar with. But depending on what fare level you choose, it will affect which seat is chosen for you, or what seats you can choose.

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 seats will be located in front of the emergency exit rows, aside from the first few rows of seats at the very front of the plane.

The final and most expensive option 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.

Southwest has also introduced new fare bundles: Basic, Choice, Choice Preferred, and Choice Extra. You can read more about each of these bundles below.

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

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

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

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

What People Are Saying

We headed over to our Facebook page to find out how people were feeling about these changes, and boy, did our readers have some thoughts. Some people are definitely not fans of the changes, while others find them to be welcome updates.

Big Fans

Reader Mike said that the changes were a “Long time overdue,” and that there would be “No more families of 20 taking up and reserving large numbers of seats on flights to/from Orlando because one or two in the family get early boarding.” We can get behind that!

Valerie said the changes were not “a lot different than most other airlines,” adding that sometimes seating was “chaos” because people were so anxious to get the seating they wanted. With the new changes, hopefully the boarding process will be a bit more organized and won’t leave people trying to rush to find their desired seats on board.

Big Haters

Overwhelmingly, though, our readers are not big fans of the Southwest changes. Terry said, “Not a fan of all their changes. I loved the seating the way it was and the 2 free checked bags,”  adding that their new go-to airline is Breeze Airways, following the announcement from Southwest.

Harold shared that these policy changes “makes them just like all the rest on baggage fees,” and added, “So why…should Southwest be a favorite airline?” Reader Melissa also had something to say, adding that they “hate the new changes” from the “reasonably priced airline for a quick trip to Disney.” Now, they will “need to plan a little better.”

Whether you’re ready or not, these new Southwest seating changes go into effect on January 27th, so if you’re planning on flying with the airline anytime after that — you’ll want to make sure you plan accordingly.

We’ll be on the lookout for more Southwest Airlines changes you need to know about. In the meantime, make sure you stay tuned to the Disney Food Blog for the latest travel and Disney news!

What do you think of the Southwest Airlines changes? Let us know in the comments below.