Nobody can question whether anyone else actually needs a wheelchair or must park in a handicapped space. Not every disability is obvious, and basic human decency suggests that it's best to assume that people aren't working the system.
Some Southwest Airlines (LUV) passengers push the good faith most people offer past its limits, however. When leaving from a Florida airport, it's not uncommon for there to be a dozen or more wheelchair-bound passengers pre-boarding, often with a travel companion.
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Since the airline offers open seating, anyone who boards early can pick any seat they want and gets first crack at the overhead bins. People who pre-board can't sit in exit row seats, but they otherwise can fill up the best seats before people who have either earned early boarding status through the airline's loyalty program or paid extra for it.
But as many Southwest passengers have noted, the healing power of flight can't be ignored, as many people who board with wheelchairs miraculously don't need them once they land. That, which has been called the “Southwest Jesus effect,” should be impacted heavily by the airline's new assigned seating policy.
Image source: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Southwest changes have a positive impact
Southwest will drop its current open seating process in late January. It has already begun selling flights with the new assigned seating policy in place.
- July 29, 2025: Passengers can begin booking flights with assigned seating.
- January 27, 2026: Flights with assigned seating officially begin.
Once Southwest adds assigned seats, fewer people will feel the need to get on the plane as early as possible. The only reason to board early is overhead bin space, something that will be more precious now that the airline has started charging for checked baggage.
The airline has made this change for purely financial reasons, but it will have one side benefit.
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View From the Wing's Gary Leff shared that the new policy will end the practice of people trying to save seats for their whole party. It will also help in another key way.
“The end of Jetbridge Jesus flights where dozens of passengers board in wheelchairs to get on first, have their first pick of seats, but walk off just fine at the end of the flight themselves. This won’t just promote fairness, but will stop hogging wheelchairs and staff time pushing those chairs to make them more available for those that really need the assistance,” he wrote.
Southwest makes bottom-line moves
Nothing Southwest has done was about anything other than the bottom line. The airline sacrificed its history and status as an industry disruptor because it turns out that charging fees and treating customers as revenue, not people, pays better.
“We began charging checked bag fees. We reintroduced the expiration of flight credits and implemented our basic economy product and enhanced fare structure, which lays the foundation for meaningful product differentiation when assigned and premium seating become available,” CEO Bob Jordan shared during Southwest's second-quarter earnings call.
Southwest's changes are having the desired impact, according to Jordan.
“The revenue contribution from bag fees has exceeded our expectations so far, and we've experienced no negative impact to the operation,” he added.
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The CEO made it clear that the airline's new fees will help its bottom line.
“Our initiatives will continue to roll up and to ramp, and we expect them to deliver a more meaningful contribution in the fourth quarter of this year and a much greater contribution in 2026 once we begin operating assigned and premium seating along with this year's enhancements,” Jordan added.
He also made it clear that more changes were coming (and he pretended that Southwest still thinks about what's best for customers).
“And I want to reiterate that our current initiatives are not the endpoint in our product strategy and evolution. As we've stated before, we are committed to evolving further to meet the needs of our current and our future customers,” he added.
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