For most of its history Southwest sold one experience to everyone on the plane. Two free checked bags, no assigned seats, and no way to pay for anything better. That model is gone, and the airline now has a number showing how completely it's gone.
Chief financial officer Tom Doxey told investors at a Morgan Stanley conference this week that about 60% of Southwest passengers are buying extras like seat assignments or extra-legroom rows. Before the changes, the figure was under 20%. Asked whether 60% was a ceiling, Doxey said he doesn't think the company has a target, and that there's still room to go.
What changed
Southwest, Then and Now
Two checked bags free for everyone
Open seating, no assignments
No extra-legroom rows to buy
Under 20% of passengers bought extras
$45 first bag, $55 second, on most fares
Assigned seats, chosen at booking or check-in
Extra-legroom and preferred seats sold separately
About 60% of passengers buy extras
Figures as stated by Southwest chief financial officer Tom Doxey at a Morgan Stanley conference, September 2026.
Contrail
How Southwest Got Here
The shift happened in stages. Checked bag charges arrived in May 2025, ending a 54-year policy that had been the airline's single best-known feature. Assigned seating followed in January 2026, replacing the open boarding scramble with seats on your boarding pass. Extra-legroom rows went on sale at the same time. In April the airline raised bag fees to sit almost exactly where Delta and United had theirs.
What's left is a fare ladder that looks like everyone else's. A Basic ticket gets you a seat assigned at check-in rather than at booking, boarding in the last group, and a flight credit instead of a refund if your plans change. Checked bags run $45 for the first and $55 for the second on every fare except the most expensive one.
Why It's Working
Money, mostly. Doxey said assigned seating and extra-legroom seats should produce more than $1 billion in operating profit this year and about $1.5 billion next year, with bag fees adding roughly another $1 billion a year. Business travel revenue is up 30% compared with last year.
Those products cost very little to deliver, since the seats were already on the plane. That makes them far more profitable per dollar than selling another ticket, and it's the reason every large airline has moved this way.
Southwest isn't finished either. It's rolling out Starlink internet, working with Chase on airport lounges, and considering a premium credit card to compete with the Delta and United versions.
Is It Still Worth Booking?
Sometimes, and the math is different than it used to be.
- Compare the total, not the fare. A Southwest ticket plus a checked bag now costs about what the same trip costs on Delta or United. The old assumption that Southwest wins on price no longer holds by default.
- The bag fee is the swing factor. If you travel with only a carry-on, Southwest fares still compete well. Check a bag and the gap mostly closes.
- Basic fares are restrictive. Getting a seat assigned at check-in means families should expect to be split up unless they pay.
- The credit card still matters. Southwest's co-brand cards include a checked bag benefit that can pay for itself on two round trips.
The wider point for travelers is that the last major US airline offering a genuinely different deal has stopped offering it. Doxey's 60% figure suggests passengers made their peace with that quickly, though it's worth remembering they weren't given much choice. Once a fare exists that leaves you in the back with a bag charge, paying to avoid it stops feeling optional.
