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Southwest Airways is including guidelines in relation to “customers of size.”
Beginning January 27, when flights with assigned seating start taking off, plus-size passengers “should proactively purchase the needed number of seats prior to travel to ensure the additional, adjacent seat is available,” the airline says on its web site.
“I just hope that consumers are aware of this change and I wonder if plus size people will skip out on flying with them at all because of them not knowing if the flight is sold out or not,” Jeff Jenkins, founding father of plus-size journey weblog Chubby Diaries, advised USA At this time. “It’s just more anxiety to an already high anxiety experience.”
To be able to advise potential clients contemplating whether or not they want an additional seat, Southwest’s web site lists the seat widths on the Boeing 737 fashions it flies from 15.5 inches on the narrowest, to 17.8 inches on the widest. The airline says the definitive seat boundary is the armrest.
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“We are updating many policies as we prepare our operation, Employees, and Customers for assigned seating on January 27, 2026. To ensure space, we are communicating to Customers who have previously used the extra seat policy they should purchase it at booking,” Southwest Airways mentioned in a press release to FOX Enterprise.
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Southwest Airways passengers verify in for flights at Halfway Airport Could 27, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Scott Olson / Getty Photos)
Passengers who buy an additional seat could also be eligible for a refund if the passenger’s flight departed whereas having no less than one open seat onthe airplane (or with passengers touring on space-available tickets), each seats bought are the identical fare class and the refund request is made inside 90 days of the date of the flight.
Southwest Airways Boeing 737 airplanes are lined up at gates at Austin-Bergstrom Worldwide Airport on Could 16, 2025. (Kevin Carter / Getty Photos)
The airline beforehand inspired plus-size passengers to buy two seats, however had fewer refund restrictions.
Ticker Safety Final Change Change % LUV SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO. 32.77 +1.70
+5.47%
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Plus-size clients touring on itineraries with Southwest associate carriers should buy an extra, non-refundable seat immediately by way of the associate provider, the airline’s web site says.
