Southwest Airlines continues to make sweeping changes.
Earlier this summer, the airline officially announced a partnership with Chase that will bring lounges to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, BWI, Honolulu and Nashville, which are expected to be completed by 2027.Before that move, Southwest made the polarizing decision to change to its boarding process, with travelers selecting an assigned seat rather than being assigned a boarding group.
“All tickets purchased for travel starting Jan. 27, 2026, will feature assigned seating. Moreover, Southwest Airlines Customers can choose their preferred fare bundle, including the opportunity to purchase assigned and premium seating and select a seat at booking,” the airline said in a statement at the time.
Southwest Airlines and rivals American Airlines and United Airlines are all scaling back planned flight schedules following a recent surge in fuel prices that threatens their profits, according to a report from Reuters.
“Southwest said it had already cut its planned 2026 capacity growth roughly in half because of higher fuel prices and could trim further if fuel costs remained elevated,” the report read.
Southwest Chief Financial Officer Tom Doxey said autumn revenues were running ahead of expectations, which helped to offset rising fuel prices. However, the airline is still planning to cut capacity as fuel prices rise.
Those changes are the only issues for Southwest, though.
According to data from Cirium, published by View From the Wing, Southwest Airlines only completed 68.28% of completed flights arrived within 15 minutes of schedule. Yet it completed 99.22% of its flights, easily the best result in North America.
