Southwest assigned seating: which seats to pick in 2026

Southwest ended open seating on 27 Jan 2026. Here is how Extra Legroom, Preferred and Standard seats work on the 737, and which rows to target.

Southwest Airlines flew its final open seating flight on 26 Jan 2026, a red eye from Honolulu to Los Angeles, and every flight from 27 Jan 2026 uses assigned seats. If your old habit was checking in exactly 24 hours out to grab a good boarding position, that trick no longer decides where you sit. Your fare bundle and your seat choice at booking do.

The cabin is still one class, but seats are now sold in three tiers. Extra Legroom seats sit at the front of the cabin and around the over wing exits, with up to five extra inches of pitch on the 737 700 according to Southwest. Preferred seats have standard legroom but sit near the front, so you get off sooner. Standard seats are the regular legroom rows further back.

On the 737 800 and 737 MAX 8, Extra Legroom covers the first five rows plus the rows around the mid cabin exit. On the smaller 737 700 it covers the first six rows plus the exit row. Exact row numbers can shift by aircraft, so open the live seat map in your booking rather than memorising a number.

Which bundle includes what matters. Basic fares get a Standard seat assigned at check in. Choice lets you pick a Standard seat at booking. Choice Preferred adds Preferred seats, and Choice Extra includes Extra Legroom. Anyone can pay to move up a tier.

Our picks: if you want space, an exit row window in the Extra Legroom zone is the best value seat on the plane, as long as you meet the exit row requirements. If you want a quick connection, a Preferred aisle near the front saves minutes at the gate. If you are on Basic and travelling with family, pay for selection or check in as early as allowed, because seats are assigned rather than chosen.

Use our Southwest 737 schematics to see where exits and lavatories sit, then match them to the live map in the Southwest app. Our drawings are illustrative and the airline map is the final word.

Last checked 26 Oct 2026 against the linked sources. Seat rules change, so confirm on your booking before you fly.

Sources and references

Outbound links to authoritative public pages. Regulatory and consumer-rights material is fact; our seat scores remain editorial. See also the Methodology & sources page.

1. Southwest assigned seating . Official Southwest page describing Extra Legroom, Preferred and Standard seats and fare bundles.
2. Southwest newsroom, 27 Jan 2026 . Southwest release confirming the first assigned seating flights and the last open seating flight.
3. Southwest newsroom, 29 Jul 2025 . Southwest release announcing assigned seating for travel from 27 Jan 2026.

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