What is this world coming to? Not only does Southwest Airlines offer assigned seating now, they also have an enhanced seating option with extra legroom and premium snacks. I recently got to try these updates on their 737 MAX 8 on a flight from Miami to Dallas.
Honestly? It felt like a weird new version of a once-unique airline experience. It wasn’t very Southwest-like in my opinion.
Never mind the fact that I was never a fan of their open seating policy and lack of premium seats. The quirkiness of flying Southwest was gone. It felt like any other “extra legroom” economy offering on any other airline in the US right now, and that makes me sad.
Does anyone know how to revert back to version 1.0? Heck, I’d even be happy with v1.9 at this point. Thanks in advance.
WN2565
Miami, FL (MIA) – Dallas, TX (DAL)
Friday, April 24, 2026
Aircraft: 737 MAX 8
Registration: N8894Q
Duration: 2 hours 43 minutes
Seat: 2F (Extra Legroom)
My full review of the Southwest Airlines 737 MAX 8 Extra Legroom experience
FYI: My complete booking was MIA-DAL on the 737 MAX 8, and then DAL-SAN on the 737-700. This review only covers the Miami to Dallas segment.
Arrival at the Miami International Airport
I once flew from Miami to Dallas (DFW) on an American Airlines MD-11. As I walked into the terminal at 9:56 AM for this 1:00 PM flight (I know!), I had my suspicions that this wasn’t going to be quite exciting as that one was.
As much as I try, it isn’t always possible to fly on a badass widebody with a questionable safety record. Sometimes a 737 (with a once equally questionable safety record) is the best option.
I checked in online the night prior, so I was able to bypass the check-in encounter entirely. Which is probably a good thing, considering how long the queue for the security checkpoint was. You see? I actually did have a somewhat valid reason for showing up so early.
The boarding process for flight number 2565 to Dallas
Due to the late arrival of the aircraft from Chicago, boarding was delayed by about 15 minutes. This was a blessing in disguise, as it gave me extra time to figure out how the new boarding process works.
Assigned seating eliminates the need for the notoriously chaotic A-B-C queuing system. They board by group numbers now (just like every other soulless airline). You still gotta line up though.
Southwest 737 MAX 8 Extra Legroom seat overview
There are 30 extra legroom seats on the Southwest 737 MAX 8. It’s a standard 3-3 configuration, consisting 5 rows of seats. These are the seats at the very front of the aircraft of course.
The extra legroom is pretty decent IMHO. Of course it’s not as good as what I once experienced in an exit row seat on this same aircraft, but it’ll do (and it did very nicely). Extra legroom looked to be about 3 inches more than a standard economy seat by my estimation.
In terms of overall look and feel, these seats are basically the same as what you’ll find in Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 Premium Class. There are no video screens, but there is a pretty good streaming in flight entertainment option (which I’ll show you in a moment).
The departure from Miami
They got us pushed off the gate 6 minutes late at 1:06 PM. I was expecting worse considering how delayed the boarding process was.
It was a 16 minute taxi over to runway 8R, and we were in the air 12 minutes late at 1:22 PM.
In-flight entertainment
Despite all the changes that Southwest has been making lately, I’m happy to report that their in-flight entertainment product is still as good as ever. Remember all the good stuff I said about it in my old Southwest 737 MAX 8 review? Every bit of it still applies. Thank goodness.
Not only are there a wide variety of movies to watch, they also offer live TV. Most importantly, the streaming was rock solid. It was fast, and I didn’t experience any buffering or dropped connections.
Food and drinks
Yes! Extra Legroom passengers do get premium snack snacks and drinks. However, as you’re about to see, the premium snack isn’t all that premium in my opinion.
Don’t get it twisted: the only kind of food that they offer is snacks. Expecting anything more substantial (such as a sandwich or a wrap) is a great way to end up disappointed.
I didn’t partake in the premium drink, but just know that alcohol (beer / wine / spirits) is available if you need it.
Seat comfort (and recline)
A word of warning: these seats are hard. So hard that it made me thankful for breaking up my trip across the country with a stop in Dallas.
I did like how deeply contoured the seatbacks are though. I don’t know. I guess I just like the feeling of being cradled like the man-baby I can be sometimes.
Just as how foolish it would be to expect actual food, it would be equally foolish to expect extra seat recline. Extra Legroom seats are extra in legroom only. Not recline.
The descent and arrival into Dallas
The weather was absolutely perfect as we began the descent just off the coast of southeast Texas. Other than a bit of haze and humidity, conditions looked perfect for a pretty sweet (non-deadly) arrival at DAL.
We touched down on runway 24 at exactly 3:05 PM, which is only five minutes behind schedule. From there, it was a short 6 minute taxi over to gate 16, and we were fully docked at 3:11 PM. Only one minute late, despite our tardy departure back in Miami.
Pros and cons
The Southwest Extra Legroom experience is essentially a new and improved version of their old (and now dead) Business Select offering. You’ll get the same premium drinks and priority boarding you used to get with that, along with a few extra inches to stretch out. It’s not a huge improvement, but it is progress.
Pros
- Extra legroom really means extra legroom. Long time Southwest frequent flyers will appreciate the difference.
- The premium snack isn’t all that premium, but I’m never one to complain about extra food. Especially when it’s free.
- Free alcohol.
Cons
- I think it’d be nice if they could premium-ify the premium snack a bit. It doesn’t have to be much. Maybe a simple snack box?
- Those of you with bony butts may not like how hard the seats are.
- Those of you with junk in your trunk may not like how narrow they are either.
Did they make multiple announcements about “not moving from your assigned seat” (even when more than 3/4 of the plane is empty) because it’s “scientifically balanced”?!
It’s so wild traveling with SW now & frankly just not worth the money they’re charging – we’ve switched to United for all non AS flights.
Also…u cannot move away! I depend on ur reviews to figure out our next vacay flight out of SAN lol.
There were no announcements on this particular flight or on the connection from Dallas to San Diego. I have been hearing a lot more on other airlines recently however. I’m sure there’s some legitimate science and math behind it, but I’m not sure why it has become such a big deal all of a sudden.
And you’re absolutely right! There’s nothing truly unique about Southwest anymore. They’re just like all the rest.
I will say that leaving San Diego won’t be easy. I love this place (which is why I’m dragging my feet lol), but it’s time to move on. More details later…
The other big thing in SWA 2.0…..paid bags. Worst element of the change IMHO.
Oh yeah, that too. They had such a unique business model, and they were doing so well with it, so it’s a shame to see them dilute the brand like this.
Hi Scott, did you see JetBlue is adding back SAN-FLL in November? Includes Mint service.
I did not know that! This is very convenient considering how often I travel to South Florida to visit family. Thanks for letting me know!