Southwest Airlines implemented its new ‘customers of size’ policy on January 27, changing how it accommodates fliers who require additional space.
According to the company’s website, plus-size passengers who cannot fit within the armrests of a single seat need to purchase the seat adjacent to theirs, a benefit that had previously been provided at no additional cost.
Highlights
- Southwest Airlines now requires plus-size passengers to purchase the adjacent seat to avoid encroaching on neighboring fliers.
- The additional seat had previously been provided at no extra cost. The change that has angered longtime customers who benefited from the policy.
- The shift is part of a larger effort to address investor concerns over the airline’s profitability margins.
The development has left the larger-bodied community feeling betrayed, and many are making it clear that Southwest is about to lose them as customers.
“I’m excited to branch out and try new airlines!!” wrote a netizen, while another added, “Wait. Is this really a thing? I thought buying two seats was a joke.”
Southwest Airlines implemented its revised plus-size seating policy yesterday
Image credits: Acroterion/Wikimedia
The changes in Southwest’s seating plans were announced in August 2025, a few months after the airline successfully dropped its free baggage perk.
Until May 2025, Southwest allowed its passengers to check two bags for free; however, under its revised directive, it charges $35 for the first bag and $45 if a customer has a second one.
Image credits: Roberta Sant'Anna/Unsplash (Not the actual photo)
The airline, notably, continues to allow two free bags to loyal customers with A-List Preferred status and to passengers who pay the most premium fee.
While Southwest’s new plus-sized seating policy states that fliers with a requirement for a second seat will now have to book it in advance, as opposed to previously requesting it at the airport, the carrier still promises to refund the cost for the second seat upon request.
Image credits: KONSTANTIN SHISHKIN/Adobe Stock (Not the actual photo)
Those requesting refunds, though, must do so within 90 days of travel, and the refund will only be entertained if the flight took off with at least one empty seat in the same fare class.
Also worth noting is that passengers who require two seats will be rebooked on a subsequent flight if an additional seat is unavailable on their original flight.
Chris Perry, a spokesperson for Southwest, said that the new rule allows the airline to “provide a quality experience for all customers.”
Jason Vaughn, an Orlando-based travel agent who shares tips for plus-size people on his website Fat Travel Tested, however, opposed the notion, saying, “I think it’s going to make the flying experience worse for everybody.”
In his further criticism of Southwest, long seen as a haven for plus-sized fliers, he questioned whether the airline still understands its core customers.
His sentiment was echoed by Tigress Osborn, executive director of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance.
“Southwest was the only beacon of hope for many fat people who otherwise wouldn’t have been flying,” she told The New York Times. “And now that beacon has gone out.”
The airline’s plus-size passengers appear ready to switch carriers amid the change
Image credits: NewsWest 9/YouTube
“I’m debating going Frontier,” wrote a Reddit user, while a second added, “I’m physically so sickened and heartbroken about this change. This is such a big loss to the plus-size community as well as our allies.”
“Southwest can go kick rocks. Between the new bag fees and the charges for an extra seat, I might as well fly a much comfier airline for the same price!” a third commented.
“It made flying so much less stressful over the last few years, but now it’s all going away. I’m with you on switching airlines,” wrote a fourth.
Image credits: plussizeparkhoppers/TikTok
The paid extra-seat protocol has been rolled out alongside another major change for the airline: the elimination of its open seating policy, which allowed passengers to pick any seat on the plane. Southwest had maintained this policy since its inception in 1966.
The changes have been attributed to pressure from activist investors to increase profit margins
Southwest Airlines has long been under pressure to modernize its decades-old low-cost policies.
Analysts and investors, including hedge fund Elliott Investment Management, which holds a 9.9 percent stake in Southwest, expressed concerns two years ago that the airline was rigidly committed to an outdated playbook.
Elliott also launched a campaign to oust CEO Robert Jordan and other top executives at the time.
In response, the airline ruled out any leadership change and said it was drafting a “significant transformation” of its business to improve financial performance.
That very transformation has manifested in the form of the open seating plan ending, and plus-sized customers being asked to pay for an additional seat, with restricted refund options.
Image credits: Southwest Airlines
“That should’ve been a requirement. It’s just rude for people to be spilling into your seat and making you uncomfortable,” wrote a netizen in favor of Southwest’s latter policy change, while another said that anyone who finds an issue with the new plus-size seating rule is the “problem.”
Southwest recorded 47 consecutive profitable years before the pandemic but has faced challenges sustaining profitability since.
"Omg if this isn't a wake up call idk what is," a Southwest supporter wrote
