FILE: A Southwest Airlines flight at SFO.

In this week’s air travel news, Southwest Airlines is set to overhaul its boarding procedure on Jan. 27 as it switches from open to assigned seating for all passengers, a change that could eliminate its problem of accommodating “Jetbridge Jesus” cheaters who use wheelchairs to get the best seats; with the Transportation Security Administration’s Real ID deadline looming, the agency says thousands of passengers every day still don’t have acceptable documents; Alaska Airlines lays out the details of its new Atmos Rewards loyalty program for 2026; American Airlines’ mobile app now gives customers options for revising their trips during schedule disruptions; United Airlines says its Connection Saver product saved a million customers from missing their onward flights last year; United is set to introduce a new transcontinental route from San Francisco this summer; and public charter operator JSX plans to bring turboprop service to the Bay Area.

Southwest Airlines passengers heading to their gates on Jan. 27 can expect to see a huge change from their previous flights on the airline, because that’s when the carrier — which operates the lion’s share of intrastate California flights — is set to end its decades-old open seating policy and switch to assigned seats. Since late July, the airline has been offering seat selection to passengers who made reservations to fly Jan. 27 or later, and the policy change means customers will have to adjust to new boarding procedures. Along with assigned seats, new seating categories are also in effect. Southwest now offers three kinds of seats: Extra Legroom in the front of the aircraft, which it has been installing for months now; Preferred seats, which are regular coach seats mid-cabin behind the extra-legroom section; and Standard, regular coach seats in the back of the plane. 

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Those numbered metal stanchions at Southwest gates that have long served as a guide for passengers to line up for boarding will be replaced over the next couple of months with digital video screens that show which group is boarding. “We’ll also have a separate Preboarding and Priority Boarding area for active-duty military, Customers who purchase the new Priority Boarding product (available beginning 24 hours before departure for flights starting January 27), and Customers who need to preboard,” the airline said. New boarding passes will display the customer’s seat assignment and boarding group number, as the old A, B and C groups will be replaced by groups 1 through 8.

FILE: People line up based on boarding position to board a Southwest Airlines flight leaving OAK in 2020.

Boarding groups 1 and 2 will include purchasers of Choice Extra fares, those who buy an upgrade to an Extra Legroom seat with any fare bundle, Rapid Rewards A-List Preferred members, and A-List members who buy an Extra Legroom upgrade. Groups 3-5 will be for purchasers of Coach Preferred fares and A-List members seated in a Preferred or Standard seat. Holders of a Rapid Rewards credit card will board with Group 5 unless they secured an earlier boarding spot based on tier status, fare type or seat type. Those in........

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