Southwest Airlines has introduced a number of sweeping changes to its pricing model, essentially moving away from what made them Southwest.
Even though the airline survived the pandemic, they never really made a full recovery, posting net profit figures in the mid-400-millions, compared to figures average two and a half billion per year prior to 2020.
Under investor pressure (mainly from Elliott Investment Management), the airline has been forced to move to a more traditional pricing model. Two major changes include offering premium seating at an additional cost, and charging for checked bags.
Southwest also has a “Customer of Size” policy, allowing larger travelers to book two seats but only pay for one. By Southwest’s definition, a customer of size is someone whose body encroaches onto the passenger in the adjacent seat. They use the seat armrest as the hard and fast divider, meaning that if your body crosses over the armrest, you will be required to book an extra seat.
Currently, (with some exceptions) customers of size are entitled to get a refund for that second seat, regardless of whether or not the flight was full. However, come January 27, 2026, customers of size won’t be able to claim for that second seat if the flight is full.
According to their policy page, the flight must depart with at least one open seat. This means that if you are classified as a larger customer, you will now be expected to pay for those two seats without possibility of a refund if the flight is full. The updated policy also requires that customers claiming for refunds meet all of the following:
- The flight(s) must depart with at least one open seat (or with Passengers traveling on space available passes).
- Both seats should be purchased in the same fare class (i.e., Choice, Choice Preferred, Choice Extra, or Basic).
- The refund request must be made within 90 days of your date of travel.
Customers of size also lose their pre-boarding benefit, and will be required to reserve their second seat in advance. If they do not, and it is deemed necessary to book two seats at the airport, they will be required to pay for that second seat on the spot. If they choose not to go this route, they will be accommodated on a later flight where there is space.
While it’s not a massive shift away from the current policy, Southwest is closing up as many financial leakages as possible. Plus-size travelers may not like the change, but it makes complete sense as there is no real loss to the airline if an empty seat is made available to the affected traveler.
However, if other customers are denied the opportunity to book a seat as a result of a plus sized person double-booking for the price of one, that’s unfair to the other traveler who has to look for an alternate flight, and also equates to less revenue for the airline.
