How do I get my seats together on Southwest?

If someone on your reservation has A-List status, Southwest will automatically reserve boarding positions for the entire group 36 hours before departure. Likewise, you can purchase Business Select fares to guarantee A1-A15 boarding positions -- but these fares are often rather pricey.



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If you have a B group boarding position, the chances are good that you'll still be able to get a window or aisle seat or find 2 seats together if you're traveling with a companion. Hot Tip: If you are in the B group (or even one of the first numbers in the C group), head to the back of the plane.

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C 1-60: This is the group you will most likely get if you don't check in right on time. While the C group isn't a guaranteed middle seat, the chances are pretty high that you won't be sitting in the ideal spot.

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Up to two adults traveling with a child six years old or younger may board during Family Boarding, which occurs after the “A” group has boarded and before the “B” group begins boarding. There should be enough open seats to enable the child to sit next to at least one accompanying adult.

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Southwest offers Family Boarding, which occurs after the “A” group has boarded and before the “B” group begins boarding. Up to two adults traveling with a child six years old or younger may board during Family Boarding.

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Southwest Airlines has long argued that its unassigned seating policy is popular with passengers and facilitates speedier boarding. That means planes spend less time at the gate and more time in the air generating Southwest money. Over the years, the airline has tinkered with the no-system boarding system.

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Re: Saving Seats Unfortunately, there's no policy to enforce. Officially, Southwest has no policy for or against seat saving, and in practice actively allows it. Reps will even suggest that passengers save seats for later boarding companions.

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As far as determining who gets to pick their seats in which order, here's how it works: A Southwest boarding group (either A, B, or C) and position (1-60) will be assigned to you at check-in and it'll be printed on your boarding pass. Group A boards first, then group B, and afterwards group C.

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Southwest assigns boarding positions rather than seats Southwest Airlines passengers are assigned specific boarding positions, consisting of a letter and then a number: You'll either be in group A, B, or C, with A being allowed to board first, B being allowed to board second, and C being allowed to board last.

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However, there are ways you can achieve this for free.
  1. Pick your airline carefully. ...
  2. Check-in early. ...
  3. Make a specific request. ...
  4. Ask another passenger to swap seats. ...
  5. Sit near the front or the back. ...
  6. Use a seat map. ...
  7. Choose a window seat. ...
  8. Select extra legroom.


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Customers who purchase an Anytime fare will automatically be checked in to their flight 36 hours prior to scheduled departure—that's 12 hours before our traditional 24-hour check-in. You will receive an earlier boarding position, improved seat selection, and earlier access to overhead bins.

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Southwest's original goal was to turn planes quickly because a plane on the ground doesn't make money. So they offered sit-anywhere seating to try to make the process quick and easy, and on short flights people don't care as much.

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Southwest offers Family Boarding, which occurs after the “A” group has boarded and before the “B” group begins boarding. Up to two adults traveling with a child six years old or younger may board during Family Boarding.

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Other family members such as grandparents can board with family boarding but they have to be the only adults. So for example you could not have both parents and a set of grandparents boarding in the family boarding group. Instead, Southwest would likely limit you to only two parents (along with the kids).

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