Southwest revises refund rules for plus-size travelers

Monday, 25 Aug, 2025 1

Southwest Airlines is placing stricter rules on seating for plus-size passengers.

Starting on Jan. 27, 2026, larger passengers who cannot use a single aircraft seat will have to purchase a second seat.

This second seat may be refunded after the flight depending on certain conditions.

This includes whether there were other unused seats on the plane on the day of travel.

“We are updating many policies and to ensure space, we are communicating to customers who have previously used the extra seat policy they should purchase it at booking,” Southwest said in a statement.

At the moment, plus-size passengers do not need to buy a second seat in advance, though it recommends it.

From Jan. 27, this changes.

They will be required to buy an extra seat and ‘pay any applicable seat fee’ before boarding.

Refunds can later be issued, if ‘at least one’ extra open seat went unsold.

This change is part of Southwest’s ongoing move to assigned seating, in line with almost every other major airline.

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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.

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