The fall of the myth: on Jan. 26, Southwest will say goodbye to its iconic boarding mode and freedom of seating

The revolution had been announced. In an effort to redefine their future, Southwest - the airline that invented the low-cost model, later copied worldwide (including by Ryanair)-is poised to abandon its original "sequence" boarding system and seat freedom.

To date, passengers boarding a Southwest flight. they can sit wherever they want, like in the old days of Ryanair (for those old enough to remember). No extra space, no seat facing the cabin. You get in and sit where you like - or where you find a seat. But this freedom is destined to end.

Motivations? Make more money by selling seat choice as an extra and speed up boarding operations, reducing turn around time and thus increasing earnings.

Paid seat choice (almost) for everyone

For us Europeans, it may seem like a platitude, but on Southwest you never paid to choose your seat, just as one has never paid to board two suitcases weighing 23 kilograms each. Unfortunately, however, the stock market wants companies that generate dividends, and Southwest, in recent years, has struggled. It has therefore decided to say goodbye to its uniqueness, becoming just another company.

Aside from those who have status in the loyalty program - or those who use the company's credit cards - choice of seat will be included only by purchasing the most expensive fares, not with basic economics.

Starting Jan. 27, Southwest will also switch to zoned boarding

If you have never flown with this company, you missed the pleasure of boarding a low-cost with a smile. Since its founding, Southwest has always been different from all others. But the post-Covid hit its operating model hard, and so came the changes: no more free checked baggage, no more free seating, much less "LUV," and many more rules.

Currently, boarding on the distinctive blue planes is by sequence number, not by zone.

Each passenger is given a group and a number, and one is placed in a queue based on that, following bollards at the gates. The system is fast, but not as fast as zoned boarding.

Therefore, starting from next January, Southwest will also divide passengers into zones numbered 1 to 8, based on fare purchased and status, as has been the case with many other carriers for years.

In conclusion

Maybe the smiles of flight attendants won't disappear. Perhaps flying with Southwest will still be a sympathetic experience.
But now, becoming a company like any other, I don't know whether at the next opportunity I will still choose Southwest for a domestic flight in the U.S., as I have always done so far ... or whether I will look elsewhere, where thanks to the status I can at least count on some extra benefits and advantages.