Under assault from activist hedge fund Elliott Capital Management, the carrier's executives told a shareholder meeting that bags will still fly free, but much else will change for passengers of the budget airline.

Assigned seats could be coming to Southwest Airlines as soon as next year. The carrier said it expects to start selling tickets with seat assignments in the second half of 2025, with the first of those flights operating in the first half of 2026,

Southwest revealed how its going to change its signature open-seating policy to let passengers pick their own seats. In July, Southwest Airlines announced that it would be ditching its signature open-seating model for a more standard assigned-seating system—leading some to wonder whether Southwest is losing its most defining brand features.