As of August 1, 2026, Southwest Airlines will start boarding most flights up to 35 minutes before departure, instead of up to 30 minutes before departure. Not surprisingly, checked bag fees are primarily to blame…
In this post:
Southwest Airlines updating when it boards flights
TWU Local 556, the union represent Southwest flight attendants, has revealed that many flights will start boarding earlier, as flagged by PYOK. As of August 1, 2026, the airline will be updating its boarding procedures as follows:
- Boeing 737-700s operating domestic flights (excluding Hawaii) will continue to board 30 minutes before departure
- Boeing 737-800s and 737 MAX 8s operating domestic flights (excluding Hawaii) will start to board 35 minutes before departure, rather than 30 minutes before departure
- International flights, as well as flights to and from Hawaii, will continue to board 45 minutes before departure
More specifically, this is about the time that flight attendants report to the gate, but on Southwest they start boarding very shortly after getting to the gate. As you can tell, there’s a difference of five minutes here, compared to the old policy. For context, nearly two-thirds of Southwest’s fleet consists of 737-800s and 737 MAX 8s, so this impacts a majority of Southwest flights.
Why is Southwest Airlines boarding flights earlier?
It’s not too hard to figure out what’s going on here. Historically, Southwest has offered two free checked bags to all passengers. While that was part of an overall strategy of differentiating the airline from the competition when it comes to customer experience, it was also about making aircraft turns as efficient as possible.
However, as of the middle of 2025, Southwest began charging for checked bags. As you’d expect, that also causes people to try to bring on more and larger carry-ons, to avoid having to pay those fees.
It’s not just that it takes longer for everyone to board with bags, but then you often still have to gate check bags, and that can slow down the whole process even more, since you can’t push back until the cargo hold is closed.
Southwest’s 737-800s and 737 MAX 8s have roughly 30-40 more seats than the smaller 737-700s, so it makes sense that it would also take a bit longer to board those flights.
Honestly, even with this update, Southwest still starts boarding closer to departure than most other US carriers, so clearly the airline is doing something right on that front.
Bottom line
As of August 1, 2026, Southwest Airlines will start boarding Boeing 737-800s and 737 MAX 8s 35 minutes before departure on all domestic flights (excluding Hawaii flights, which board 45 minutes in advance). It seems pretty clear that this change is motivated by the impact that checked bag fees are having on operational performance, since it takes more time to board a plane when people have lots of carry-ons, and overhead bins are full.
Even with these changes, Southwest still has the shortest boarding windows of any major US carrier, on average.
What do you make of Southwest leaving more time for boarding?
I don't really think that Southwest airlines thought through this whole paying for luggage thing. I almost exclusively fly Southwest, for now. Fortunately I have a Southwest airlines credit card which allows me to check one bag for free. I've flown six times since the new changes occurred with paying for bags. On every flight, the staff at the gate ask people to bring up any larger carry-ons so they can be checked for free....
I don't really think that Southwest airlines thought through this whole paying for luggage thing. I almost exclusively fly Southwest, for now. Fortunately I have a Southwest airlines credit card which allows me to check one bag for free. I've flown six times since the new changes occurred with paying for bags. On every flight, the staff at the gate ask people to bring up any larger carry-ons so they can be checked for free. Every flight! So it really doesn't make any sense to have changed the policy because you're still checking bags for free and also causing more delays. Maybe they should have gone to only one checked bag instead of two if they really felt they needed to change something. But what I say is if it ain't broke don't fix it.
I don't really get the point of charging for checked bags, since every domestic pax in the United States still arrives at the airport with exactly the same amount of detritus they used to check, only now it all goes into the cabin. The airline is carrying the same weight, and paying baggage handlers to do less work for the same money.
Don't forget delays and related costs did to people playing baggage tetris on board.
Fees for checked bags are dumb. If anything, checked bags should be free and carry-ons subject to a charge.
Something my partner noticed that is very irritating is that when A List Prefered board they put their carry-on in the first overhead bin they come to. He is A List and paid much extra to sit in row 2 owing to a tight connection in BWI, yet had to put his stuff in row 9 because of this.
FA's are not policing nor are gate agents asking people to stow their stuff over THEIR assigned rows.
Flight attendants report 35 min b4 departure on -800.s They still get 5 minutes to preflight. Therefore boarding will begin 30 min b4 departure on 800.s and 25 min b4 on 700.s. Since their on-time performance is crap, customers will see no change whatsoever. This is a non story. IMO they should be there much earlier.
Uhhh, didn’t
Elliott PuppetSouthwest CEO Bob Jordan recently claim charging for bags would speed up turn times?Probably worth mentioning what those operational issues are: Southwest has slipped to eighth among US airlines in the most recent on-time rankings from DOT and OAG. The DOT had them with a 71.9% A15 in June, well below Delta at 81.2% and Alaska at 81.1%. The delays cascade through the day: “late arriving aircraft” is the cause for 13% of flights, nearly double the network carriers. And of the big four, Southwest was the least...
Probably worth mentioning what those operational issues are: Southwest has slipped to eighth among US airlines in the most recent on-time rankings from DOT and OAG. The DOT had them with a 71.9% A15 in June, well below Delta at 81.2% and Alaska at 81.1%. The delays cascade through the day: “late arriving aircraft” is the cause for 13% of flights, nearly double the network carriers. And of the big four, Southwest was the least affected by extreme weather at 0.37% of delays. It’s all due to bags.
So close! What are those 'bags' due to? Corporate greed. Short-term profits at the expense of all-else. Wall Street extracts $800M in bag fees, destroys a 30-year operational advantage, and scapegoats frontline workers for gate delays while the boardroom salivates over their bonuses.
Don’t worry, we’re in agreement
A once reliable, on-time, FRIENDLY airline has gone to the pooper. It’s now the MOST DELAYED carrier in America. Chronically late flights. Terrible experience since Elliott Asset Management took over.
Also, can someone help me out? Is "Boarding not Boarding" a thing in the USA? Maybe Ben you could write an article on this? Or link me if you have already! I ask because it directly relates to what is being discussed here.
While most common with Ryanair, its far from unique to them.
Boarding not boarding is "boarding" people at the boarding gate but without them being able to directly board the plane. It typically saves 15 minutes in my experience.
Simon (says?), in the US, they often use the term 'pre-boarding.' Gate agents scan your ticket to stop the delay clock, then pack everyone into the jetbridge to wait while the plane is still being cleaned, etc. It doesn't actually speed anything up; it just tricks the computer into logging an "on-time" boarding start while making passengers stand in a crowded tunnel. Same trick, different continent; I've had it happen to me more times than...
Simon (says?), in the US, they often use the term 'pre-boarding.' Gate agents scan your ticket to stop the delay clock, then pack everyone into the jetbridge to wait while the plane is still being cleaned, etc. It doesn't actually speed anything up; it just tricks the computer into logging an "on-time" boarding start while making passengers stand in a crowded tunnel. Same trick, different continent; I've had it happen to me more times than I can count with Air France, too.
Thanks for the response, much appreciated, but I must demur, with Ryanair its massively sped up boarding on many flights I've been on.
I'm not aware Ryanair use boarding time started as a metric of anything, so they're probably chasing different KPIs, but waiting until a plane is ready and then starting to process pax documents adds 5 to 10 minutes to boarding. Its why its literally FRs routine!
Thanks
Is it normal for a USA union to communicate company procedure?
I'm from apparently socialist Europe and I've never seen such a thing! Unions will by all means ask it's members to comply, or not with company instructions, but they always come from the company
What happens for non union members?
Welcome to U.S. corporate governance! Unions here have to issue procedural memos to their members because management routinely creates policy chaos and then tries to blame frontline staff when turn times collapse.
When an activist hedge fund breaks an airline’s boarding model, the union tells workers, "Follow protocol to the letter so management can't fire you for their mistakes." Also, for frontline operational staff (pilots, flight attendants, gate agents), there no "non-union" workers.
Welcome to U.S. corporate governance! Unions here have to issue procedural memos to their members because management routinely creates policy chaos and then tries to blame frontline staff when turn times collapse.
When an activist hedge fund breaks an airline’s boarding model, the union tells workers, "Follow protocol to the letter so management can't fire you for their mistakes." Also, for frontline operational staff (pilots, flight attendants, gate agents), there no "non-union" workers.
Wow! The "closed shop" as it is known here was made illegal decades ago! Utterly illegal.
Appreciate the follow up!
The best time to begin boarding is just before departure .
Tee up 1990 to explain how this is another glaring example of greedy corporations subjecting helpless union members to intolerable burdens and pax to conditions no EU member would accept, in 3..2..1
Thank you for admitting that the EU actually protects consumers while Americans get conditioned to defend corporate boardrooms stripping away basic service. If pointing out that Wall Street broken Southwest's boarding model makes you uncomfortable, maybe stop volunteering to be the human shield for a multi-billion dollar hedge fund.
If gate agents do their jobs properly and flight attendants make regular announcements to the sheep to quickly stow their bags, sit down and STFU boarding can be done in 30 minutes. At MIA yesterday a fully full 737 was boarded in 20 minutes. (In part because the flight attendants were going home to NYC and wanted to get there). We arrived 20 minutes early at LGA. Win for everybody involved.
Look. At. That. Right on cue.
Such restraint! Whining about your fellow passengers as "sheep," advocating "cattle prods" (see VFTW for George's more biting comments), and offering a back-handed compliment to 'the help.'
So, your big proof that Southwest's new policy works is a single anecdotal (Shout out, @Tim Dunn) flight where the crew had to sprint through boarding just so they could commute home on their off hours? Relying on staff to perform miracles...
Look. At. That. Right on cue.
Such restraint! Whining about your fellow passengers as "sheep," advocating "cattle prods" (see VFTW for George's more biting comments), and offering a back-handed compliment to 'the help.'
So, your big proof that Southwest's new policy works is a single anecdotal (Shout out, @Tim Dunn) flight where the crew had to sprint through boarding just so they could commute home on their off hours? Relying on staff to perform miracles to make up for an Elliott Management bag bottleneck is corporate exploitation.
One early landing at LGA doesn't erase DOT data showing Southwest sinking to 8th in on-time rankings. Wall Street breaks the model, and you blame your fellow passengers and workers. Shameful, George.
*incoming* George Romey to defend greedy corporations and blame the workers *T-minus 3, 2, 1...*
Remember when Southwest proved you could treat passengers like human beings and still be profitable? Private equity greed killed that model in just six months. So, passengers now pay more, boarding takes longer, and management gets to use frontline workers as human shields against angry passengers, all so a hedge fund makes its short-term profit.
If anything the switch to assigned seats should make boarding faster. I can't tell you how many Southwest flights I've been on that were delayed due to the flight attendants spending 20 minutes trying to help reseat families that hadn't been able to get seats together, etc. It was chaos.