The shift from open seating is expected to begin in the second half of next year, Southwest says. DALLAS — Southwest Airlines on Thursday unveiled the first details of its plans to begin assigning seats, update its boarding process and add “premium” extra-legroom seats on its planes.

Assigned seats could be coming to Southwest Airlines as soon as next year. The carrier said it expects to start selling tickets with seat assignments in the second half of 2025, with the first of those flights operating in the first half of 2026,

Southwest revealed how its going to change its signature open-seating policy to let passengers pick their own seats. In July, Southwest Airlines announced that it would be ditching its signature open-seating model for a more standard assigned-seating system—leading some to wonder whether Southwest is losing its most defining brand features.