Southwest Is Getting Fancy. But Is It Losing What Made It Special?

Platinum status. Airport lounges. Assigned seating. Southwest’s latest changes have me wondering what happened to the airline that built its reputation on doing things differently.

Southwest Airlines is getting fancy.

On October 15, the airline announced another round of changes, including a new Platinum loyalty tier and plans for airport lounges.

Airport lounges.

Southwest.

Those are two things I never expected to hear in the same sentence.

At this rate, I’m expecting somebody to announce Southwest First Class, complete with a tiny hot towel and a flight attendant calling me Mr. Aguirre.

Which, admittedly, I would enjoy.

But the announcement got me thinking.

What happened to the Southwest I remember?

The airline that did things differently.

The airline where you could check two bags for free.

The airline where your boarding position determined your chances of getting a decent seat, and occasionally, an entire row to yourself.

Over the past couple of years, Southwest has undergone a pretty significant transformation.

Baggage fees arrived. Open seating disappeared. Different fares came with different benefits.

And now we’re talking about Platinum status and airport lounges.

Look, I’m not against progress.

I’m all for comfortable seats, better internet, and anything that makes flying a little easier.

But I can’t help wondering whether Southwest is slowly becoming the very thing it used to stand apart from.

Because there was a time when Southwest wasn’t just another airline.

It was the airline that did things differently.

And strangely enough, I kind of miss that.

Introducing Southwest Platinum

On October 15, 2026, Southwest announced a major evolution of its Rapid Rewards loyalty program.

Beginning January 1, 2027, the airline plans to introduce three loyalty tiers:

• Silver, replacing A-List.

• Gold, replacing A-List Preferred.

• Platinum, a new top tier with additional benefits.

Platinum members will receive benefits including unlimited Companion Pass trips, three free checked bags, and access to available Extra Legroom seats when booking.

Southwest is also introducing milestone rewards, expanding opportunities to earn qualifying points, and adding new ways to redeem rewards.

Now, I have nothing against Platinum.

Platinum sounds important.

If an airline wants to recognize my loyalty by giving me something shiny, I will happily accept it.

I’d also accept Diamond.

Executive Diamond.

Supreme Executive Diamond.

Whatever gets me through the airport faster.

But there’s something amusing about watching Southwest evolve into the kind of airline it once seemed determined not to become.

For decades, part of its appeal was that it operated differently.

Now we’re discussing premium seating, loyalty tiers, and exclusive benefits.

The airline that once let everyone compete for the same available seats is becoming increasingly focused on who gets which seat, when, and under what conditions.

That’s not automatically bad.

It’s just a pretty dramatic change in personality.

Wait. Southwest Is Getting Airport Lounges?

This might be my favorite part of the announcement.

Southwest also revealed more details about its new airport lounge network, called 

Southwest Icon Lounge.

The first locations are expected to begin opening in late 2027 in Austin, Baltimore,

Honolulu, and Nashville.

Access will be available through a new premium Southwest credit card being developed with Chase.

The airline also expects to complete a fleetwide rollout of Starlink internet connectivity in fall 2027.

Airport lounges.

Southwest.

I’m still getting used to this.

And I’m not opposed to lounges.

If anything, I appreciate the idea of having somewhere comfortable to wait for a flight.

Airports can be exhausting.

Sometimes all you want is a quiet place to sit, charge your phone, and eat something that didn’t come from a refrigerator with a $14 price tag.

But it’s another example of Southwest moving toward a more premium model.

And that makes me wonder what the airline wants its identity to be.

Because I remember when Southwest’s biggest selling points had very little to do with being premium.

In fact, some of my favorite memories came from the complete opposite.

Goodbye, Boarding Position B37

On January 27, 2026, Southwest officially moved from open seating to assigned seating.

The familiar A, B, and C boarding positions gave way to a system with eight boarding groups and different seat categories.

Most fares now allow passengers to choose seats when booking, while Basic fares generally receive seat assignments at check-in unless the traveler has qualifying benefits.

And I understand why.

Not everybody enjoys checking in exactly 24 hours before departure as though they’re 

trying to buy concert tickets.

Not everybody wants to stand at the gate studying the boarding positions of strangers.

And if you’re traveling with friends or family, knowing where everyone will sit before boarding can make the experience less stressful.

Those are legitimate improvements.

But I have to admit something.

I liked the old system.

There was something strangely entertaining about walking onto an airplane and having to make a decision.

Window seat near the front?

Aisle seat toward the back?

Do you take the first decent seat you see, or gamble that something better is waiting farther down the aisle?

It was like a game show where the grand prize was arriving in Austin with both armrests.

And sometimes, if you played your cards right, you actually won.

The Little Victories of Open Seating

Here’s something I genuinely miss about Southwest’s old boarding system.

The possibility of winning the airplane lottery.

If you’ve flown Southwest enough, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

You board a flight that isn’t completely full.

You make your way toward the back of the plane.

You find an empty row.

You sit by the window.

And then you wait.

Passengers keep walking past you.

Someone looks at your row.

Keeps moving.

Another person approaches.

Keeps moving.

The boarding door closes.

You have the entire row to yourself.

Three seats.

Two armrests.

Nobody climbing over you to use the bathroom.

For the next two hours, you’re basically flying first class.

Southwest First Class.

No champagne. No fancy meal. Just three economy seats and the overwhelming satisfaction of knowing you made the right decision.

And then there was my favorite situation.

Imagine flying from Fort Myers to Austin with a stop in Orlando.

Back then, on certain Southwest flights, if you were continuing on the same aircraft, you didn’t have to get off in Orlando.

So maybe you boarded in Fort Myers with a Group C position.

You got whatever seat was left.

Probably somewhere in the back.

Nothing exciting.

But then you land in Orlando.

Most of the passengers get off.

And suddenly it’s just you and eight other people continuing to Austin.

Now comes the beautiful part.

You get to pick a new seat before the next group of passengers boards.

And there it is.

The exit row.

All that legroom.

Just waiting for you.

You went from boarding in Group C in Fort Myers to sitting in an exit-row seat from

Orlando to Austin.

No upgrade fee.

No loyalty status.

No Platinum membership.

Just being in the right place at the right time.

For a brief moment, you felt like you’d figured out a secret the rest of the airline industry didn’t want you to know.

What a rush!

Was it a little ridiculous to get that excited about an airplane seat?

Absolutely.

But that was part of the fun.

With Southwest, you didn’t always know what seat you were going to get. Sometimes that was frustrating. Sometimes it was fantastic.

And when it worked in your favor, it felt like you’d won something.

Assigned seating takes away the uncertainty.

I understand why that’s appealing.

But it also takes away those little victories.

And I’m going to miss them.

The Two Free Bags Were Kind of a Big Deal

The seating change wasn’t the only major shift.

In May 2025, Southwest ended its longstanding policy of allowing most customers to check two bags for free, introducing baggage charges for many travelers while retaining 

exemptions for certain fares, loyalty members, and credit cardholders.

This one felt particularly significant.

Because free checked bags weren’t just a perk.

They were part of Southwest’s identity.

It was something ordinary travelers could immediately understand.

You didn’t need to study a rewards chart.

You didn’t need a premium credit card.

You didn’t need to know the difference between qualifying miles, qualifying points, and 

whatever new currency the airline industry invents next.

You bought a ticket.

You checked your bags.

Simple.

And simplicity has value.

Especially when traveling already involves enough decisions.

What time should I leave?

How early should I arrive?

Is my carry-on too big?

Why does airport coffee cost the same as a mortgage payment?

The fewer additional calculations, the better.

Now Southwest is asking customers to evaluate more of the things they’ve already learned to evaluate when flying other airlines.

And I understand the business reasons.

But I still wonder what gets lost along the way.

Maybe Southwest Had to Change

Here’s where I have to be fair.

Airlines are businesses.

They operate in an extremely competitive industry.

Aircraft are expensive.

Fuel is expensive.

Employees need to be paid.

Customers have different expectations.

And Southwest can’t necessarily keep doing something forever simply because people feel nostalgic about it.

I understand that.

Some travelers want assigned seats.

Others want extra legroom.

Frequent flyers want meaningful rewards.

Business travelers may value airport lounges and priority services.

Southwest’s changes are designed to serve those customers, too.

And some of the new benefits genuinely sound useful.

Those aren’t inherently bad changes.

For the right traveler, they could be improvements.

The question isn’t whether Southwest should ever change.

The question is whether it can change without losing the reasons people chose it in the first place.

Being Different Was Part of the Product

This is what interests me most about the whole situation.

We usually think of an airline’s product as transportation.

You pay money.

You get on an airplane.

You arrive somewhere else.

Hopefully with your luggage.

But the experience surrounding that transportation matters.

And so does the brand.

Southwest didn’t just sell flights.

It sold a particular approach to flying.

One that felt a little more casual.

A little less complicated.

A little more approachable.

Not every traveler loved it.

But people understood what made Southwest different.

And I think that’s incredibly valuable for any company.

I remember about a decade ago, I was working for a multibillion-dollar Fortune 500 

company.

And during our sales training, you know which company they would bring up as an example?

Southwest Airlines.

Not another company in our industry.

An airline.

They talked about how Southwest operated, its approach to customer service, and how 

it built a recognizable identity by doing things differently.

Think about that.

Here I was, working for one of the largest companies in the country, number one in what it did, in a completely different industry, and we were learning lessons from Southwest 

Airlines.

That’s the kind of reputation most companies would love to have.

Southwest wasn’t just competing with other airlines. It had become an example of how 

to run a business.

And that’s what makes all these changes particularly interesting to me.

Because when companies outside your industry are using you to teach their employees 

about customer service and doing business differently, you’ve clearly done something right.

So when you start changing the very things that made you different, I think it’s fair to ask what you’re giving up in the process.

Consider how often brands spend enormous amounts of money trying to establish a 

recognizable identity.

They want customers to associate them with something.

Convenience.

Quality.

Affordability.

Fun.

Simplicity.

Then imagine becoming so successful at establishing that identity that people immediately know what makes you different.

That’s an achievement.

And when you start changing those recognizable features, you have to replace them with something equally compelling.

Otherwise, customers may start asking a very reasonable question.

If you’re going to operate like the other airlines, why shouldn’t I just fly one of the 

other airlines?

That’s the challenge Southwest faces.

Not simply convincing people that its new benefits are valuable.

Convincing them that Southwest itself is still worth choosing.

Here’s What I Actually Want From an Airline

I’m not particularly complicated.

I want a reasonable ticket price.

I want to know what I’m paying for.

I want the flight to leave on time.

I want to arrive safely.

And I’d prefer not to spend the entire boarding process wondering whether my carry-on will be making the trip in a different part of the aircraft.

That’s pretty much it.

I don’t necessarily need an elaborate loyalty program.

I don’t need six different ways to earn points.

I don’t need to achieve Platinum status before I’m treated like a person who purchased a ticket.

And I definitely don’t want to need a spreadsheet to figure out whether the cheapest fare is actually the cheapest fare.

But I also recognize that other travelers have different priorities.

Someone flying every week for work may care deeply about priority boarding and lounge access.

A family traveling once a year may care more about sitting together and keeping the total cost manageable.

A solo traveler might happily take the cheapest seat available.

There’s room for all of those customers.

The challenge is making the choices understandable.

Because sometimes companies mistake having more options for making things better.

And those aren’t necessarily the same thing.

Sometimes more options just mean more decisions.

I’m trying to book a flight to California.

I don’t want to feel like I’m choosing a health insurance plan.

Southwest Is Getting Fancy. But Will It Still Feel Like Southwest?

I’m not ready to declare that Southwest has lost its identity.

That’s too easy.

And frankly, too dramatic.

An airline changing its boarding system isn’t the fall of civilization.

Although I’m sure someone at an airport gate has already described it that way.

Southwest still has opportunities to distinguish itself.

Good service matters.

Competitive pricing matters.

Convenience matters.

Reliability matters.

And if its new loyalty benefits genuinely improve the experience for customers, that’s worth recognizing.

But I hope the airline remembers something.

People don’t always choose a company because it offers the most features. 

Sometimes they choose it because they like the way it does things.

I understand why Southwest changed.

Assigned seating is more predictable, and predictability is a good thing when you’re traveling.

And I genuinely hope the new rewards program, lounges, and other improvements turn out to be worthwhile.

Maybe Southwest’s transformation will turn out to be exactly what the company needed.

Maybe passengers will embrace assigned seating, appreciate the new rewards, and 

wonder why the airline didn’t make these changes sooner.

And I’ll probably appreciate knowing exactly where I’m sitting, too.

But I can’t help missing the little game we used to play.

The 24-hour check-in.

The boarding positions.

The calculated gamble of walking toward the back of the plane, hoping nobody would sit next to you.

And that glorious moment when you went from Group C to an exit-row seat without spending another dollar.

Those little victories were part of the experience.

There was something special about boarding a Southwest flight and not knowing what you were going to get.

Sometimes you lost.

Sometimes you won.

And sometimes you ended up with an entire row to yourself and felt like you’d beaten the system.

I’m not asking Southwest to bring back every old policy.

I’m just hoping that somewhere between the new Platinum tier, airport lounges, and premium seating, it remembers what made people love flying Southwest in the first place.

Because there’s nothing wrong with getting a little fancy.

Just don’t forget your personality.

Assigned seating might be better for planning. But open seating was better for stories.

And sometimes, that’s what made flying Southwest fun.