The era of Southwest Airlines’ decades-old open seating policy is ending. The carrier’s last flight with open seating, Southwest flight WN1971 from Honolulu to Los Angeles, will depart Honolulu at 9:55 pm on Monday, January 26. The flight will travel overnight and land in the early morning on Tuesday, January 27. Once WN1971 lands, all Southwest flights will use assigned seating.

Open seating has been a staple of Southwest Airlines’ passenger experience since its inception, and it represents one of the carrier’s most radical changes as it seeks to become more like the rest of the industry. Rather curiously, WN1971 will be operated by N871HK, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 painted in the carrier’s original « Desert Gold » livery dedicated to Southwest co-founder Herb Kelleher, likely as a tribute to the airline’s disappearing tradition.

The End Of Southwest Open Seating

Southwest Airlines’s last flight with open seating, WN1971, will depart Honolulu Daniel K Inouye International Airport at 9:55 pm local time on Monday, January 26. The flight will operate overnight and is scheduled to land at Los Angeles International Airport on Tuesday, January 27, at 5:30 am, as per Flightradar24. It will, in fact, land after the carrier’s first route with assigned seating (San Juan to Orlando) takes off, which will depart at 6 am Atlantic Standard Time, four hours ahead of Pacific Standard Time.

Southwest has assigned N871HK to operate this route. On the inside, the aircraft is a standard Boeing 737 MAX 8, but the aircraft wears Southwest’s original Desert Gold colors and is dedicated to Herb Kelleher. Kelleher was the co-founder of Southwest Airlines and was also the company’s full-time CEO and president for 20 years. The « HK » at the end of the aircraft’s registration is Kelleher’s initials.

Open seating was one of Southwest’s initial differentiating factors, but the carrier is now officially shifting away from this policy after 54 years. The switch to assigned seating has been promoted as a net positive for customers by Southwest, which makes it intriguing that the carrier has scheduled N871HK on this route. Likely, this assignment was intended as a small tribute to the end of an era at Southwest, although the is receiving little overall fanfare from Southwest.

The Switch To Assigned Seating At Southwest

January 27, 2026, marks the beginning of Southwest selling assigned seats on its flights. Previously, the carrier’s open seating policy meant that all seats were essentially up for grabs. While the carrier did sell customers earlier boarding groups, you could essentially walk onto the plane and select any seat you wanted. This process meant that there were no fees for seat selection, although some passengers found the process to be confusing and chaotic.

Assigned seating is used by essentially every other airline in the world and is more organized, but the main benefit for Southwest is the monetization possibilities. Now, the Dallas-based carrier can charge passengers for preferred seats, window and aisle seats, while also offering upsells to fare types that come with complimentary seat selection. This will greatly increase ancillary revenue for Southwest.

In addition, Southwest Airlines is going to sell extra-legroom seats for a surcharge. As of January 27, all of its 737s have been refreshed with these seats. The Boeing 737 MAX 8s and 737-800s feature 46 extra legroom seats, with the 737-700 offering slightly fewer of these seats. Given how popular premium seating is with passengers today, the option of extra-legroom seating should greatly benefit Southwest Airlines.

Changes At Southwest Airlines

These changes have been implemented after Elliott Investment Management purchased a significant percentage of the company’s shares in 2024. The carrier is now looking to emulate the business practices of other, more successful US airlines like Delta Air Lines and United Airlines.

Some of the changes have been a net positive, such as Southwest’s operational changes (including beginning overnight flights and partnering with foreign carriers). The switch to assigned seating is more controversial, as some Southwest loyalists swear by open seating, while others, less familiar with the process, may welcome the change. What is undoubtedly worse for consumers, however, are the new fees for seat selection.

Arguably, the most controversial change from a customer perspective is that Southwest now charges for checked baggage, whereas the carrier previously allowed two free checked bags. Southwest states that adapting to industry norms will ensure its financial stability and competitiveness. At the same time, many of the carrier’s customer-facing changes have eroded its unique brand that built a loyal following.