November 19, 2025
Nixing the wheelchair and seat choice loophole sharpens Southwest’s boarding effectivity,
Southwest Airways prepares to finish its long-standing wheelchair boarding benefit because the service shifts to assigned seating early subsequent 12 months.
The transfer comes after years of benefit to passengers who request wheelchair help primarily for early boarding privileges. Though federal guidelines require airways to accommodate mobility requests with out problem, Southwest’s open-seating mannequin made preboarding a worthwhile perk. The upcoming swap to assigned seats removes a lot of the motivation for vacationers trying to bypass normal boarding teams, View From the Wing reported.
Southwest’s management intends for the assigned-seating system to assist cut back misuse of preboarding. The change will nonetheless adhere to legally mandated incapacity lodging. Southwest’s procedures for passengers who want mobility help will stay in place. Nonetheless, for the reason that airline will now function with assigned seating, the lodging will now not supply first-choice seats.
Southwest’s transfer displays each operational considerations and public strain. Over time, passengers with out lodging have complained concerning the elevated variety of wheelchair customers. The variety of passengers requesting wheelchair help has elevated considerably throughout the airline trade lately. Whereas different airways would not have selection seating, wheelchair help permits passengers to bypass traces at TSA and boarding.
Nixing the wheelchair and seat choice loophole sharpens Southwest’s boarding effectivity. Moreover, the airline has added a brand new mobility assist process for security. Southwest coverage now requires detachable lithium batteries present in mobility aids, similar to cellular wheelchairs, to be carried into the aircraft cabin. Gadgets with batteries above 300 watt-hours will probably be reviewed for compliance by Jan. 11, 2026. These measures intention to strike a stability between passenger entry to journey for individuals with disabilities and rising considerations about hearth dangers linked to lithium batteries.
Southwest has framed the transition to assigned seats as a part of a broader modernization plan. The airline will be capable to monitor seat assignments extra precisely and higher establish disruptive passengers. Figuring out potential liabilities has been an occasional problem below the open-seat mannequin. That change aligns with the service’s efforts to replace plane cabins, refine boarding effectivity, and enhance the shopper expertise, following two years marked by staffing shortages and shifting journey patterns.
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