When flying with any airline, the choice of seat can either make your travel experience better or totally ruin it. So, when you have a flight ticket from Southwest Airlines, it is very important to know how the airline's seat selection works. Many airlines charge extra for selecting a preferred seat. That's where the Southwest Airlines seat selection policy comes in handy, as it has everything you need to know regarding the seat selection for your journey. Southwest Airlines, known for its customer-friendly policies, does work differently when it comes to seat selection as they have an open seating policy, and many passengers are not aware of this policy. Understanding this unique seat selection process can make your flight comfortable and pleasant without giving any extra money for the seat.
Southwest Airlines' seat selection process is simple and easy to understand. The airline has an "open seating policy". Under the open seat selection, the airline does not assign any seats to the passengers; instead, it lets the passengers choose their seats while onboard. The open seat selection works on a first-come, first-service basis. Passengers can select their seats from the available map list, which is only provided after boarding.
Before boarding any flight, it is important to know the rules and regulations of airlines beforehand. So, passengers flying with Southwest should know the rules for seat selection before choosing their preferred seats.
Southwest Airlines does not assign seats to passengers randomly.
The airline offers seat selection based on the passenger's choice.
The airline has divided three boarding groups for seat selection - A, B, and C with positions 1-60 in each group.
The Southwest Airlines seating selection only works when the passengers board their flights.
Preferred seat selection totally depends on your check-in, so you should do the check-in early to get a better spot.
Passengers can choose their preferred seats from the available seat map during the boarding according to the boarding groups.
As per the seat selection policy, pregnant ladies, senior citizens and children under the age of 16 cannot select the emergency window or the front seats.
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There is no seat selection fees with the airlines. Yes, you heard it right: Southwest does not charge any fees for selecting your preferred seats like other airlines. You can pick your seat after getting onboard. So, there is also no need to pay any extra fees to reserve your desired spot on the flight. However, you may be able to upgrade your boarding group.
Even though Southwest does not allow advance seat selection, it does have a system to organize the boarding process and let the passengers choose their preferred seats. For seat selection, passengers are divided into boarding groups and boarding positions. These groups decide when the passengers can board their flight and pick out the seats they desire. The groups and positions solely work on how fast and early the check-in was done per passenger.
After the check-in for a flight, Southwest assigned the passengers boarding groups A, B, and C positions from 1-60. Here are the types of boarding groups that are assigned to the passengers for seat selection:
These groups were formed in such a way that they made boarding easy for the passengers. For example, if you have a ticket with A10, that means that you can board with Group A, and you will be one of the 10 people to board the flight and can choose the seats that are available.
No, the airline does not allow passengers to select their seats in advance. It has a very flexible policy for seat selection. The seat selection Southwest Airlines process depends on the check-in and its first-come, first-served system. Passengers can get better seats and seat choices if they check in early, but unfortunately, there is no advance seat selection.
As you already know now, Southwest Air has multiple boarding groups for seat selections. Every passenger gets to board their flight according to their group. Here is an overview of the boarding order, so you don't need to stress about the order while boarding.
This is the first group to board the Southwest Flight. But not everyone can get this group and board early. To board in preboarding, passengers need to meet certain criteria. If you need any specific seat requirement due to your medical condition or disability, then you should opt for this group. However, keep in mind that you can't sit on the exit row seats if you are boarding with this specific group.
Group A gets to board the flight after the preboarding. The passenger with group A boarding passes will get to the board according to their number (1-60), like a passenger with A1 who will get to board first among the rest of the people in Group A.
If you or someone else has a certain disability and isn't able to get on with the preboarding group, then make sure to join this group to get a better seat. This group boards after Group A. However, you must get connected with the airline customer care to get into the group.
Families and active duty members in uniform should board this group to get a better select seat Southwest Airlines. If you are two adults travelling with a kid, you can easily get into this group. However, if a family has group A, then they should board in group A to get a better seat rather than waiting for the family group. For this group, you can get enough seats for the child to sit with you easily.
After all the groups mentioned above are done with their boarding, group B will board after them. Boarding for group C will be there only if the flight is large. Otherwise, group B is the last group to board if there is no group C.
These boarding groups give you an idea of which boarding group you should choose. However, Groups A, B and C totally depend on your Check-in. You can enjoy your luxurious journey with Southwest Air, which has a simple seating plan.
The southwest seating plan does not work in the traditional ways that you can choose your seating during the booking process. Southwest seating arrangement according to the check-in done by the customer, early check-in, and early boarding. Here are some of the ways passengers can consider to get a better seat with the airline:
We know that early check-in definitely gives you a better seat selection option. So, you can download the Southwest mobile app to check in on time by getting push notifications, or you can keep track of time and check in early with the official Southwest website.
You can purchase Early check-in or get Southwest Airlines business select seats to get a better choice. Early check-in is a paid service that gets you checked in automatically 36 hours before your flight, and you can get A1 to A15 boarding groups to board first. With business select purchase, you can definitely get on with Group A.
The loyalty programme of the airline offers elite status to its frequent fliers and gives them the privilege of boarding early. The A-List Members receive boarding priority, increasing their chance to get a better and top seat. A List Preferred Members get more perks with boarding and also receive additional perks with the airlines.
The open seating Policy sets Southwest Airlines apart from other airlines. While it may be confusing at first, understanding the boarding process and the way it works with different options can give you various options to get the seat you want. It doesn't matter if you are flying with family or solo; the seat selection policy allows you to get the best seats.
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