Southwest eases second-seat rule for larger travelers, offering a free extra seat when available
Southwest rolled back part of its overweight-passenger policy, allowing gate agents to assign a free second seat for customers who need extra room on flights with adjacent seats; if two seats aren’t available, the traveler may be rebooked on a later flight. Passengers can request refunds for the extra seat within 90 days if the flight departed with an open seat and both seats were booked in the same fare class.