Southwest Airlines

This review of Southwest Airlines’ wheelchair accessibility process and policy was written in Fall 2022 and updated in June 2026 to reflect Southwest’s move from open seating to assigned seating.

Overview of Southwest Airlines’ Wheelchair Accessibility Process and Policy

Southwest Airlines changed how it handles seating on January 27, 2026. For decades, Southwest used open seating, where there were no assigned seats and passengers chose any open seat once on board. Under that old system, I did not need to call ahead to arrange an accessible seat—I simply pre-boarded and rolled to the seat I wanted. That is no longer the case. Southwest now assigns every seat, so the process for reserving a wheelchair accessible seat has changed, and it now involves a phone call. I’ve outlined that updated process below.

Southwest tends to keep its disability assistance in-house—their own employees handle the lift and aisle chair transfer and move my wheelchair, rather than a contracted agency that works across the whole airport. Southwest’s Accessible Travel Assistance https://www.southwest.com/help/accessible-travel-assistance page contains information about their policies and procedures.

Reserving a Wheelchair Accessible Seat

Because Southwest now assigns seats, here is the process I use to reserve a wheelchair accessible seat:

I book a general ticket on southwest.com as usual, but I skip selecting a seat during the booking process.
After the purchase is complete, I call Southwest’s main number at 1-800-435-9792 (also reachable as 1-800-I-FLY-SWA).
I tell the agent that I need a wheelchair accessible seat. This is typically a bulkhead seat—row 1, or sometimes row 2, depending on the layout of the aircraft. These accessible seats are in the extra legroom section of the plane.
If I am traveling with a personal care attendant, I ask the agent to assign a seat for my attendant next to me at the same time.

In my experience, the wait on the phone has not been long—usually a couple of minutes—and the agents have been knowledgeable about the accessible seating process.

Tip: I have been told that families can call this same number to request seat assignments together. As I understand it, the seats set aside for families are toward the back of the aircraft, so this is worth keeping in mind if seating location matters to your group.

Notifying Southwest of Disability-Related Needs When Booking

Separate from reserving the accessible seat by phone, I still note my disability-related needs during the online booking process. The steps are:

I go to www.southwest.com.
I choose my flight dates and select “Continue” to start the purchase process.
During the purchase process, I am asked to enter traveler information. Below the personal information, there is an arrow to expand the “Special Assistance” section.
Once expanded, I choose the options I need. For me, that is “Need lift/transfer assistance to/from aircraft seat” as well as that I bring a “powered wheelchair with 2 non-spillable batteries.”
Then I complete the checkout process.

Boarding and Seating on the Plane

With assigned seating, the accessible seat I reserved by phone is held for me, so there is no longer a need to rush to check in exactly 24 hours before departure in order to secure a good seat. I still check in when I can.

People who use the pre-board process—those of us who need a lift or an aisle chair—still board first.

Southwest Airlines’ wheelchair accessibility process and policy at the airport, security, getting on the plane, on the plane, and getting off the plane are generally the same as other airlines.

This website is provided free of charge and for educational purposes only. It solely intends to be a resource that will help save fellow people with mobility impairments time and money with travel. As always, please perform your own research and confirm any trip or itinerary will work