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Southwest does things differently.

• They don’t charge for your first 2 checked bags (that one is a HUGE fan favorite)
• They allow cancellations up to 10 minutes before a flight’s departure
• They fly via point-to-point, not hub-and-spoke
• They don’t have assigned seating, instead using a mixed system of first-come-first-served order of checking in, and payment for better positioning

Some passengers love Southwest’s lack of assigned seating, some hate it. And that makes sense.

Some people relish the idea of being able to choose their own seat based on what’s available when they get onto the plane. However that very same lack of assigned seating has brought up complaints about “the haves and the have nots” (read: paying to get onto the plane faster, when “better” seats are still available) as well as the increase of what appears to be people who don’t really need “extra time to board” (due to disability, etc.) asking for wheelchair service and being among the first to board the plane (here’s a possible solution to that issue).

Because there aren’t seat assignments and window and aisle seats are more popular, the running “game” (it’s not really a game, but you know what I mean) is, if there’s an empty middle seat next to you, to try to keep it empty. There have been some pretty creative ways people have done this, to the point that Southwest even made a video of a bunch of them.

There’s one more issue with Southwest’s lack of assigned seating – people who save seats.

If someone only saves one seat, it’s usually really not a big deal and few people, if anyone, will care. But there are people who save lots – and I mean LOTS – of seats (we’re talking the first 3 rows being held by one person). Or worse…people who manage to save every seat in the exit row. Oh, does that get people riled up!

It comes up on Twitter every couple of weeks. Or days. 😉

So what IS Southwest’s official policy?

The thing is, Southwest has no official policy about saving seats. There’s certainly nothing about it either way on the southwest.com website. The closest they get is on their Boarding Process page, where they say they have open seating and for you to choose any available seat. Singular “seat.” Not plural “seats.”

They don’t say that you’re able to save seats, but they don’t say you’re not allowed to, either.

The closest I could find was from a Southwest customer service representative, Marco, whose email to a disgruntled passenger was quoted on a post on Flyer Talk earlier this year:

Dear X,

Thank you for taking the time to contact us. We appreciate the opportunity to address your concerns.

As you probably know, all flights on Southwest are “open-seating,” and Customers are free to take any available seat onboard the aircraft. In light of this, it is not uncommon for a Customer to want to reserve a seat (or seats) for a friend, family member, or associate who will be boarding behind them.

Truthfully, we don’t have a policy either way–for or against–saving seats. In fact, we share our perspective on this issue on southwest.com as follows: “because Southwest Airlines maintains an open-seating policy, general-boarding Customers may sit in any open or unclaimed seat.” With this in mind, as long as there is no Safety concern, it would be acceptable for a Customer to “claim” a seat for his/her family member or traveling companion who may be in a later boarding group. We are aware that the saving of seats is a by-product of our policy, and as long as the boarding process is not delayed and other Customers aren’t inconvenienced, it usually isn’t a significant issue.

Again, we appreciate your contacting us. We look forward to welcoming you onboard a Southwest flight soon.

Sincerely,

Marco, Southwest Airlines

Southwest has been quoted as saying they’ve never taken a stance on seat-saving because they don’t want flight attendants to become seat police. And that appears to be absolutely true. Under normal circumstances, while the flight attendants won’t stop people from trying to save seats, they’ll also not make you move if you sit in a seat someone’s “saved.”

But that doesn’t mean it’s not an issue. Lyn Montgomery, president of the Southwest flight attendants’ union, agrees that it can be.

She told the Wall Street Journal in late 2022, “It’s a problem, because it creates another instigator in the world of the skies that we work in.”

Ms. Montgomery added flight attendants try to defuse seat-saving situations and similar matters with humor if they can. That’s why Southwest passengers often hear cheeky announcements during boarding advising them not to avert eye contact or pile items on the middle seat in the hopes that passengers will pass by their row in their search for a seat.

And what does Southwest say when asked outright? They claim its boarding approach is manageable and that, “…creating a policy for or against saving seats would create more problems than it solves, taking flight attendants away from their main focus on safety procedures and hospitality during boarding. In other words, there are no plans to switch to assigned seats.”

Andrew Watterson, Southwest’s chief operating officer, told WSJ of open seating: “It’s a business decision based upon what customers tell us. And right now each time we ask, customers tell us, ‘We prefer it this way.’ If customers tell us they want it differently, we’ll change it like that.”

I’d like to see those surveys, please. Do they mention saving seats? I bet they don’t. 😉

So what can I do?

Honestly, that’ll depend on your wallet and your conscience.

Wallet options

If you fly on Southwest a lot, you’ll have status and be A-List or A-List Preferred. Both include priority boarding on all flights.

You can also pay for a Business Select fare, which will automatically include zones A1 through A15.

Or you can get a Southwest credit card, with a price of $69 to $199 per year, which could give you some early boarding benefits per year (note: not every time).

But if you’re a more typical flyer who doesn’t want to pay through the nose, or have to get a credit card for occasional better boarding, you still have options.

You can pay to get the best seating possible, with Upgraded Boarding, but that’s going to cost you at least $30 per person, per segment.

You could also pay for Early Bird boarding – that’s just $15 per person for each leg of the flight.

With Upgraded Boarding or Early Bird, you’ll be among the first to board (after people who need extra time, but at least the front of the pack of everyone else).

Conscience options

How much of a conscience do you have? How much of a conscience does everyone else on the plane have?

Some people will see that seat in the exit row – the one with the hoodie on it – and ask who’s sitting there. “Oh, I’m saving that for my husband.” Some people will unceremoniously pick up that hoodie and sit there. “It’s an open seat. So I’m sitting in it.” (of course, be prepared for the response, which will range from anger to tears…and whatever consequences come of it.)

On the other hand, some people just figure, “We’re two adults and have B45 and 46. I guess we won’t sit together.” And they don’t.

Or they have A22 and C4 and figure, “Yay, I have A22! Guess we won’t sit together unless the middle seat next to me is still open by the time C4 boards.”

Is sitting in the exit row and saving the 5 other exit row seats fair? I don’t know if “fair” is the right word. It certainly isn’t nice. But without Southwest having an official policy about the issue, there’s not much anyone can do.

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