On Tuesday, Southwest Airlines will officially end its longstanding open seating policy after nearly 60 years in the air — and plans to commemorate it with a special aircraft.
According to air industry reporter Ryan Ewing, the final flight to seat passengers the old way will be aboard Southwest’s commemorative Boeing 737-8 MAX in ‘Desert Gold’ livery, matching the airline’s original colors when it launched in 1967.
The retro red-and-gold bird, which first launched back in November 2022 and has operated ever since, is designated Flight N871HK, named in honor of the company’s founder Herb Kelleher (“HK”) and its first ever flight on June 8, 1971 (“871”).
It will lift off from Honolulu at around 10 p.m. local time on Monday and fly overnight to California, landing around 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning.
It was the end of an era for the venerable budget airline, which was the last major company to hold out against the industry-wide sea change towards pre-booked seating.
“The airline has been known for its unique open seating model for more than 50 years, but preferences have evolved, with more customers taking longer flights where a seat assignment is preferred,” Southwest said in a statement this week.
“[Our] research is clear and indicates that 80 per cent of Southwest customers, and 86 per cent of potential customers, prefer an assigned seat.
“When a customer elects to stop flying with Southwest and chooses a competitor, open seating is cited as the number one reason for the change. By moving to an assigned seating model, Southwest expects to broaden its appeal and attract more flying from its current and future customers.”
Traditionally, Southwest passengers were seated first come, first served, stratified within “A”, “B”, and “C” boarding groups depending on how early they checked in.
Now, instead, passengers will be assigned a specific seat depending on their fare class, much like every other major airline.
The policy could be particularly costly for passengers too big to fit comfortably in one seat, who could previously request a free extra seat at the airport but will now be required to book one in advance.
It comes amid a push by investors to align Southwest with its other competitors, including by ending its decades-old “bags fly free” policy in May 2025.