Southwest Airlines announced changes to its customer of size policy that it’ll implement starting in 2026. The change is important to note for Southwest travelers who need more than one reserved plane seat, such as some plus-sized travelers or those with disabilities. Also, the carrier could determine that a traveler may need an additional seat for safety reasons. However, under its new customer of size policy, Southwest will only refund passengers for the extra seat (or seats) purchased under three conditions.
Under the updated policy, to get one’s money back for an additional seat purchased, travelers will need to make their refund request within 90 days of travel. Also, flyers will need to buy all their seats “in the same fare class.” Another condition is that at least one of the seats purchased by the traveler must remain open on the flight.
The new customer of size policy will go into effect on January 27. Until then, Southwest travelers will abide by the carrier’s open seating and current customer of size protocol. On January 26, 2026, the airline will switch to operating by an assigned seating model.
What Else Is There to Know About Southwest Airlines’ Customer Of Size Policy?
Under Southwest’s current policy, the airline encourages travelers to purchase the number of seats they need. That way, they can take proactive action to ensure the carrier reserves enough space for them. Then, those travelers are given a “seat reserved” sign that they put on their additional seat(s). After the flight, the traveler can request a refund on the purchase of their extra seat(s) if they desire to.
Flyers traveling with any of Southwest’s carrier partners will still need to organize their seating arrangements with that other airline. Southwest won’t refund extra seats purchased to accommodate additional space a traveler will need on a partner carrier’s flight.
“Any customer traveling on an itinerary that includes a partner carrier and who cannot be safely accommodated in a single seat will be required to purchase an additional, non-refundable seat. You must contact the partner carrier to complete the purchase,” says Southwest.
