Overview

• Passengers who encroach past the armrest must purchase adjacent seats at booking, with the armrest defined as the seat boundary.
• Refunds for the extra seat are limited to cases where both seats are in the same fare class, the request is filed within 90 days, and the flight leaves with at least one open seat or space-available passengers onboard.
• Travelers who arrive without having bought the needed seat must purchase it at the airport, and they may be rebooked if no adjacent seat is available.
• Southwest lists seat widths for its Boeing 737 fleet, ranging from about 15.5 to 17.8 inches, to help customers assess their needs.
• Advocates for plus-size travelers criticize the change as burdensome, while the airline describes it as an operational update aligned with assigned seating and partner-carrier rules that may be nonrefundable.