With Southwest’s new seating system set to begin for travel on or after January 27, 2026, all the major U.S. airlines now use assigned seating. For passengers, that means one thing: you’ll have to decide whether to pay extra for a better seat or take your chances with what’s left for free.
Sometimes, that decision is easy — but what if all the remaining seats cost extra? That’s exactly what happened to us on a recent flight, and it turned out to be a good preview of what travelers will increasingly face.
Pay For Preferred Seats
I booked our flight on JetBlue about a month out — not way in advance, but not last-minute either. At that point, the only seats still available were a few middle seats scattered around the cabin, as well as Even More Space seats in the front of the plane and the exit rows.
JetBlue wanted $82 to $89 for these seats. I didn’t want to pay nearly $180 for extra legroom on a two-hour flight — and it’s still odd that they charge the same price for a middle seat as they do for a window or aisle.
(Note: JetBlue recently rebranded these seats into a new “Even More” fare class, which is essentially the same thing — extra legroom, early boarding, and priority security at select airports — just under a shorter name.)
Take Our Chances
Option two wasn’t ideal, but it made the most sense under the circumstances. I decided to take a chance and leave us without seat assignments.
Would JetBlue move us into Even More seats for free if the flight filled up? Would other passengers pay for seat upgrades at the last minute, freeing up regular seats? Maybe someone would get upgraded, and we’d get their spots?
I was also curious how things would play out for travelers on Blue Basic fares, who can only pick seats 24 hours before departure.
Online Check-In
When I checked in for the flight the day before, I thought we might finally get assigned seats — but that didn’t happen. The seat map still showed only paid options. JetBlue gave me a choice: pay for one of those, or wait and see what would happen.
At that point, I figured I might as well stick with the plan and wait until we got to the airport.
At the Gate
We weren’t checking bags, so we went straight to security. I kept refreshing the JetBlue app, but there was still no seat assignment. Then, about ten minutes before boarding, I checked again — and there they were.
Coincidentally, we ended up with two aisle seats next to each other, which is exactly what we would have picked if we’d been able to choose earlier.
They weren’t Even More seats, but the row just behind the exit with standard legroom — a solid outcome considering we didn’t pay a dime extra. Clearly, the system reshuffled a few passengers to make space for us.
What Would You Have Done?
Usually, I’d rather pick my seat in advance than leave it to chance — even if that means settling for a less-than-ideal spot. But when every remaining option costs extra, sometimes it’s worth holding off and seeing what happens.
That said, I might not take that same gamble on a longer flight or a different airline.
What about you? Would you pay for a better seat, or roll the dice and wait for the airline to assign one?
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