Southwest Airlines’ new policy will affect plus-size travelers. Here’s how

Southwest Airlines will soon require vacationers who don’t match within the armrests of their seat to pay for an further one in advance, half of a string of current adjustments the service is making.

The new rule goes into impact January 27, the same day Southwest begins assigning seats.

Currently, plus-size passengers can either pay for an further seat in advance with the option of getting that money back later, or they’ll request a free further seat at the airport. Under the service’s new policy, a refund is still potential but no longer assured.

In a assertion Monday, Southwest said it’s updating some of its insurance policies as it prepares for assigned seating next 12 months.

“To ensure space, we are communicating to Customers who have previously used the extra seat policy that they should purchase it at booking,” the assertion said.

It marks the latest change at Southwest, which had long been recognized for letting its passengers decide their own seats after boarding the aircraft, and for letting their luggage fly for free, which ended in May. Those perks had been key to differentiating the price range service from its rivals.

Southwest says it will still refund a second ticket under its new policy for further seating if the flight isn’t absolutely booked at the time of departure, and if both of the passenger’s tickets had been bought in the same reserving class. The passenger also wants to request the refund within 90 days of the flight.

If a passenger who wants an further seat doesn’t buy one forward of time, they will be required to buy one at the airport, according to the new policy. If the flight is full, the passenger will be rebooked onto a new flight.

Jason Vaughn, an Orlando-based journey agent who posts theme park reviews and journey suggestions for plus-size people on social media and his web site, Fat Travel Tested, said the change will probably affect vacationers of all sizes. Southwest’s current policy helped create a more comfy flying expertise for plus-size vacationers, he said, while also guaranteeing all passengers have satisfactory space in their seats.

“I think it’s going to make the flying experience worse for everybody,” he said of the new rule.

Vaughn described the change as yet another letdown for Southwest loyalists like himself, likening it to Cracker Barrel’s current emblem change that has angered some of the restaurant’s followers.

“They have no idea anymore who their customer is,” he said of the airline. “They have no identity left.”

The airline has struggled just lately and is under strain from activist traders to enhance earnings and income. It also said last 12 months that it could charge prospects further for more legroom and offer red-eye flights.

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