Southwest Airlines' last "open seat" flight takes off Monday on a special plane

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Tuesday, Southwest Airlines will be formal Ending its long-standing open seating policy After nearly 60 years of flying, there are plans to commemorate it with a special aircraft.

according to Aviation industry reporter Ryan EwingThe last flight to seat passengers the old-fashioned way will be aboard Southwest Airlines’ commemorative Boeing 737-8 MAX, painted in “Desert Gold” to match the airline’s original colors when it was launched in 1967.

vintage red gold bird, first Launching in November 2022 It has been operating since then as flight number N871HK, named after the company’s founder Herb Kelleher (“HK”), and made its first flight on June 8, 1971 (“871”).

The plane will take off from Honolulu around 10pm local time on Monday, fly to California overnight, and land around 5:30am on Tuesday morning.

It’s the end of an era for the venerable budget airline. The last major company to resist an industry-wide shift toward reserved seats.

Southwest Airlines’ commemorative aircraft, the “Herb Kelleher,” named after its founder of the same name, who died in 2019 (Bryce Rea/Skylite Productions (Southwest Airlines))

“For more than five decades, the airline has been known for its unique open-seating model, but preferences have changed, with more customers flying longer distances and preferring seat assignments,” Southwest said in a statement this week.

“[Our] Research clearly shows that 80% of Southwest Airlines customers and 86% of potential customers prefer assigned seating.

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“When customers choose to stop flying Southwest and choose a competitor, open seating is cited as the top reason for change. By moving to an assigned seat model, Southwest hopes to broaden its appeal and attract more flights from current and future customers.”

The change comes against the backdrop of numerous cost-cutting and profit-boosting measures pushed by activist investors (Bryce Rea/Skylite Productions (Southwest Airlines))

Traditionally, Southwest passengers are seated on a first-come, first-served basis, divided into “A,” “B” and “C” boarding groups based on their boarding time in advance.

Passengers will now be allocated specific seats based on fare class, just like on all other major airlines.

policy Costs can be particularly high for passengers who are too big to fit comfortably in a seatyou could apply for free extra seats at the airport before, but now you need to book them in advance.

Against this backdrop, investors are pushing Southwest to align itself with other rivals, including ending its decades-old “baggage free fly” policy in May 2025.