Plus-Sized Flyers Lose Their Free Second Seat on Southwest After 20+ Years

The Only Airline That Helped Is Changing

For more than 30 years, Southwest Airlines gave plus-size travelers something no other carrier would: a free extra seat at the gate, no questions asked. That ends on January 27, 2026.

The Dallas-based airline is overhauling its beloved Customer of Size policy, and the changes will hit larger passengers right in the wallet.

What made Southwest the go-to airline for plus-size flyers is about to disappear, and the reasons why say a lot about where the airline industry is headed.

Two Seats Now Required at Booking

Starting January 27, 2026, passengers who cannot fit comfortably within one seat will be required to purchase an additional seat in advance.

This applies to passengers who cannot sit comfortably within the space of a single seat, meaning they cannot fit between the armrests without using part of the neighboring seat.

According to the airline, the armrests will now be considered the official boundary of each seat.

If you show up at the airport without a second seat, Southwest can require you to buy one at the day-of fare or rebook you on a later flight.

The Old Policy Worked for Decades

Southwest has had a long-standing policy for more than 30 years designed to meet the seating needs of customers who require more than one seat.

The carrier’s decades-long Customer of Size policy previously allowed those who preferred not to purchase an additional seat in advance to buy a single seat and discuss their seating needs with a gate agent ahead of departure.

If space was available, the extra seat was free.

If you prepurchased, Southwest refunded you after the flight regardless of whether the plane was full.

Refunds Now Come With Conditions

Refunds can still be obtained after travel, but eligibility will depend on a number of specific conditions.

Refunds will only be possible when the flight was not completely full, both seats were purchased in the same fare class, and the refund request is made within 90 days after the flight.

If only one of these conditions is not met, the refund will not be approved. That is a major change from the old policy, which offered refunds on virtually every flight.

Advocates Say Hope Is Gone

Tigress Osborn, chair of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, told The New York Times that Southwest was the only beacon of hope for many fat people who otherwise would not have been flying.

Advocates warn the changes could make air travel prohibitively expensive for many, while longtime loyalists say the policy undermines Southwest’s identity as a customer-friendly airline.

For travelers who cannot afford to prepay for two seats, flying just got a lot harder.

Americans Keep Getting Bigger

In the 1970s, the average weight of adult men was 172.2 pounds and adult women weighed 144.2 pounds.

By recent years, the average weight of adult men reached 194.7 pounds and adult women hit 164.7 pounds.

Men’s waists went from 39 inches in 1999 to 40.2 inches, while women’s waists grew from 36.3 inches to 38.6 inches.

The average American body has expanded significantly over the past five decades while airplane seats moved in the opposite direction.

Airline Seats Keep Shrinking

American, Delta, Southwest, and United have each lost between 2 and 5 inches of legroom and around 2 inches of seat width since the 1980s.

From 2000 to 2018, average seat width decreased from 18.5 to 17 inches, and sometimes as low as 16. 1 inches.

The average legroom on those carriers today is 31 inches, down from 35 inches in the late 20th century. Passengers are bigger than ever flying in seats designed for people from the 1960s.

Southwest Seats Are 17 Inches Wide

The Boeing 737-700 has seats with a width of 17 inches and a pitch of 31 inches, and it accounts for 60% of Southwest Airlines’ fleet.

The Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes offer seats with a width of 17.8 inches and a pitch of 32 to 33 inches. That armrest-to-armrest measurement is the boundary Southwest uses to determine whether you need an extra seat.

With the average American man’s waist at 40 inches, many passengers simply cannot fit.

Other Airlines Are Worse

United Airlines requires passengers to buy a second seat, usually for the same fare as the first.

American Airlines advises passengers who need extra space to purchase a second seat during booking, though availability is not guaranteed.

Delta does not make passengers buy an extra seat in advance, but it may ask them to move seats or take another flight if they encroach on another traveler’s space.

None of these airlines offer refunds for extra seat purchases.

Open Seating Dies the Same Day

Beginning on January 27, 2026, Southwest Airlines is enacting a new assigned seating policy.

Southwest had first announced plans to ditch its longstanding open-seating policy in July 2024, in part to boost revenue.

Customers can now select from three seating options: Standard seats near the back, Preferred seats near the front, and Extra Legroom seats near exit rows.

The unique boarding process where passengers picked any open seat is gone after more than 50 years.

Free Bags Ended in May 2025

After more than 50 years, Southwest Airlines’ “bags fly free” policy came to an end.

In May, Southwest Airlines officially instituted checked baggage fees, adding a $35 charge for the first bag and $45 for each additional checked bag.

Despite the new bag fees, profits fell 42% in the first nine months of the year, and executives admitted that basic economy sales slumped immediately following the checked bag charges.

The airline that built its brand on being different is now looking a lot like everyone else.

Southwest Built Its Brand on Being Different

The airline was established on March 9, 1967, by Herb Kelleher and Rollin King as Air Southwest Co.

In 1971, it began operating as an intrastate airline wholly within the state of Texas, first flying between Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio.

Southwest Airlines was profitable for 47 consecutive fiscal years, from 1973 through 2019.

Kelleher’s philosophy of putting employees and customers first turned a scrappy Texas startup into America’s largest domestic carrier.

Still Better Than the Competition

Despite the upcoming changes to Southwest’s plus-size seating policy, the carrier is still the only major U.S. airline that offers any type of refund for eligible plus-size passengers after the flight.

American, Delta, and United require full payment for extra seats with no possibility of getting your money back.

Southwest’s new policy is stricter than before, but for plus-size travelers weighing their options, it remains the least bad choice in an industry that has never made room for larger bodies.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

Read more from this brand:

• Southwest Airlines Ends Free Extra Seats for Plus-Size Flyers
• Southwest Airlines kills open seating after 53 years; no more free checked bags, too
• American Airlines Just Killed Miles Earning on Its Cheapest Tickets