Florida travelers beware: Southwest tightening refund rules for plus-size passengers

Date:2025-08-27 23:15:26 Category:US Views:1 Comment:0

Southwest Airlines is making more changes to their traditional seating policies. This time, the airline is making it a bit tougher for plus-size passengers to get refunded for extra space.

For decades, Southwest has had a friendly policy encouraging "customers of size" who cannot comfortably fit into the width of one seat to purchase two seats when they book a flight to notify the airline they will need accommodation, with a guaranteed refund for those extra seats after the flight.

“The armrest is considered to be the definitive boundary between seats; the width of the narrowest and widest passenger seats (in inches) is available on our Flying Southwest page,” the policy says.

Travelers buying an extra seat would receive a Seat Reserved sign at the gate to hold the seat when they board. But that was when they still had open seating.

That ends Jan. 27, 2026, the same day Southwest switches to assigned seating on all its flights.

Previously, the airline operated on a first-come, first-seated model, where passengers could select any open seat once they boarded the airplane.

Southwest will still allow customers to buy extra seats and apply for a refund, but conditions must now be met to be eligible to get the money back.

What will Southwest require for plus-size customers to get extra seats refunded?

In an update to their policy, the airline said that as of Jan. 27, 2026, the following three conditions must be met for plus-size passengers to be eligible for a refund:

The flight(s) must depart with at least one open seat (or with Passengers traveling on space available passes).
Both seats should be purchased in the same fare class (i.e., Choice, Choice Preferred, Choice Extra, or Basic).
The refund request must be made within 90 days of your date of travel.

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Southwest making changes to seating, fares

The change is one of several Southwest has made over the last year or so to look more like other airlines in the United States. In May, the company added a new Basic fare and started charging baggage fees beginning at $35 for the first suitcase, a major shift from the longstanding practice of allowing two free checked bags.

Starting in January, the airline is moving to assigned seating and will launch a new group-based boarding process based on seat location, starting with Extra Legroom seats and allowing Rapid Rewards elites and premium ticketholders to board earlier.

The airline also recently made its fares available on Expedia, adjusted its loyalty program, launched red-eye flights, partnered with Icelandair, and announced a new package vacation booking platform, Getaways by Southwest.

The discount carrier has had a busy 2025. The company announced layoffs of 15% of its corporate jobs in February, one of its flights narrowly missed hitting a business jet in Chicago, a Southwest pilot was arrested for DUI in Georgia, the company was sued (along with Frontier) over flight delays, and a Southwest jet almost took off from a taxiway in Orlando in March.

Southwest adding new Florida routes

Southwest is adding or increasing several new routes to, from, and within Florida in 2025, according to the airline and other media sources. They include:

Orlando International Airport (MCO) and Miami International Airport (MIA)
- Twice daily, starting August 2025
Orlando International Airport (MCO) and Palm Beach International Airport (PBI)
- Twice daily, starting August 2025
Orlando International Airport (MCO) and Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport (SRQ)
- Twice daily, starting August 2025
Orlando International Airport (MCO) and Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) near Fort Myers
- Twice daily, starting August 2025
Jacksonville International Airport (JAX) and San Diego International Airport (SAN)
- Sunday-Friday, starting Oct. 2, 2025
Tampa International Airport (TPA) and San Diego International Airport (SAN)
- Currently, once a week, increased to daily Thursdays-Mondays, starting Oct. 2, 2025
Orlando International Airport (MCO) and McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS) in Knoxville, Tenneessee
- Daily, starting March 2026

In April, Travel + Leisure reported that the airline was relaunching some dormant routes for the winter and holiday season to provide travelers more options to get back and forth to Florida and California, including flights from Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) to Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) in Fort Myers and Tampa International Airport (TPA).

What are Southwest Airlines' new fare bundles?

Southwest's new fares, branded as Choice Extra, Choice Preferred, Choice and Basic, will be available starting in the third quarter of this year for flights beginning in 2026.

Choice Extra (formerly Business Select): The most expensive, with the most add-ons as part of the base fare.
- Early boarding, two free checked bags and complimentary access to extra legroom seats at booking and complimentary internet.
- Rapid Rewards points equal to 14x the fare
- Refundable up to 10 minutes before departure
Choice Preferred (formerly Anytime): The next most expensive.
- Access to preferred standard seats at booking (generally those closer to the front of the plane) and an earlier group in general boarding
- Fee to check bags
- Rapid Rewards points equal to 10x the fare
- Refundable up to 10 minutes before departure
Choice (formerly Wanna Get Away Plus): The next tier.
- General boarding and a standard seat assignment toward the back of the plane at booking.
- Fee to check bags
- Rapid Rewards points equal to 6x the fare
- Refundable as a transferable flight credit, valid for 12 months
Basic: The least expensive tier.
- Seat assignment provided at check-in, final positions in boarding
- Fee to check bags
- Rapid Rewards points equal to 2x the fare
- Refundable as a non-transferable flight credit, valid for 6 months

Travelers on Choice Preferred, Choice and Basic fares will all have to pay to check bags, as well as for internet and premium drinks onboard.

Other airlines making changes, too

Southwest isn't the only airline tweaking their services.

In June, Spirit Airlines reworked its ticket lineup to make the choices easier to understand and to emphasize that the budget airline offers high-value options as well. That was a a few months after Spirit updated its loyalty program and started offering extra legroom seating for the "Go Comfy" ticketholders (now called "Premium Economy").

Also in June, United Airlines started requiring all domestic passengers to be checked in for their flights 45 minutes before departure. Previously, check in for passengers without checked bags closed half an hour before departure.

JetBlue announced — again, in June — the airline was teaming with Florida's passenger rail service Brightline to offer "a seamless air-and-rail booking experience for travel across Central and South Florida" by allowing JetBlue passengers to book both a plane and train trip directly on jetblue.com as part of a combined itinerary.