‘Uno Reverse Card this policy y’all’: Southwest changes infuriate fans

Whitney Westerfield boarded his Southwest flight from Tampa to Nashville on Thursday and went to his seat in Row 8. The overhead bins were full for several rows, forcing him and many other passengers to roam around the plane looking for spots as more people filed in.

“I have never had the absolute mess that was boarding and then deboarding last night,” the Kentucky attorney said in an interview. The business trip that started Monday was the first time he’d flown Southwest since the airline switched to standard seat assignments from its old free-for-all model in late January.

On both flights, he said, he told the flight crew: “Would you guys all please pass along to the big shots that we’d like the old way back?”

Under pressure to boost its bottom line, Southwest has been in transformation mode for more than a year. The airline, which operates a regional hub out of Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, announced in 2024 the eventual end of open seating. Last year, it added fees for checked bags after holding on to its generous “bags fly free” policy long after other carriers had started raking in the bucks for luggage.

Some travelers have welcomed the introduction of a seat assignment and boarding system similar to other airlines. Southwest has said research showed more people would fly the carrier if it offered assigned seats. But many are in mourning for a company that once stood out but now blends in with crowd.

“We’re talking about one of the most beloved brands of all time, and they just completely nuked it over the course of the last 11 months,” said Kyle Potter, executive editor of the travel site Thrifty Traveler.

In recent days, travelers have complained online about a lack of available overhead bins; young children being assigned seats away from parents; massive amounts of carry-ons slowing the boarding process; and rigid rules about staying in place despite a mostly empty plane.

Southwest has been working to address pain points and has instructed flight crews to keep their own luggage in spaces that will clear up room for passengers. They had previously used bins at the front of the plane.

“Since launch, we’ve been closely monitoring input and real-world behaviors to validate our assumptions and identify where we can refine the experience,” the airline said in a statement. “Those insights are now informing a series of early adjustments designed to smooth operations and reduce friction as Customers and Employees adapt to the new boarding and seating process.”

Brad Todd, a Republican media consultant who lives in Alexandria, was flying from Kansas City to D.C. on Wednesday night when he found himself on a flight with fewer than four dozen people. One of those fellow passengers was in the middle seat next to him, so he moved a row back. He had paid for a seat with more legroom and said he had 18 open seats behind him.

Todd said a flight attendant approached him and asked where his assigned seat was.

“She just said, ‘We can’t leave ‘til you’re in your seat,’” he said. “Everybody has to be in their own seat before we can leave.”

Todd said he doesn’t have a problem with assigned seats or bag fees but said the requirement didn’t make sense when a few weeks ago, the airline wouldn’t know or care who was sitting in which seat under the previous boarding system.

“The airline industry has had a slew of unpopular companies, and Southwest was not that for a long time,” he said. “They’re trying hard to adopt the least popular policies in an industry that’s unpopular. It’s crazy to think about.”

Many passengers have pleaded with Southwest to take a page from the playbook of Cracker Barrel, which changed course after its attempt at a rebrand met fierce resistance. Some invoked “new Coke,” a Coca-Cola beverage that flopped and ultimately disappeared from the marketplace.

J.B. Sauceda, host of the TV show “Texas Country Reporter,” was on a flight from Austin to Cancún on Friday morning when he saw a man board with two young kids whose seats were scattered across the plane. Other passengers worked out a plan to allow the trio to sit together, but he said boarding was held up.

“Uno Reverse Card this policy y’all,” he wrote in a post on X.

He said in an interview that he’s always loved the airline’s culture. He thinks an about-face would win fans back.

“If anything, people would probably be more endeared to you for going down this path,” he said.

Potter doesn’t expect that to happen. He pointed to the airline’s recent financial performance; Southwest reported record revenue for 2025, and its stock price has jumped since assigned seating started.

“I think the genie’s out of the bottle, unfortunately,” he said.

Henry Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst and president of Atmosphere Research Group, said in an email that he doesn’t think Southwest should change course on assigned seating because it, along with new extra-legroom seats, makes the airline more compelling for “brand-neutral travelers.”

But he said he would like to see the airline drop the checked bag fees.

“When combined with its assigned seats, extra-legroom seats, and its improved on-time performance, returning to free checked bags – even if limited to one free checked bag – for all passengers could give Southwest an enormous competitive advantage in the marketplace,” he wrote. “If that happens, listen for a giant sucking sound as Southwest vacuums up travelers from other airlines.”

Hannah Sampson is a staff writer at The Washington Post for By The Way, where she reports on travel news.