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Southwest Airlines will soon require travelers who don’t fit within the armrests of their seat to pay for an extra one in advance, part of a string of recent changes the carrier is making. The new rule goes into effect January 27, the same day Southwest starts assigning seats. Currently, plus-size passengers can either pay for an extra seat in advance with the option of getting that money back later, or they can request a free extra seat at the airport. Under the carrier’s new policy, a refund is still possible but no longer guaranteed. In a statement Monday, Southwest said it is updating some of its policies as it prepares for assigned seating next year. To ensure space, we are communicating to customers who have previously used the extra seat policy that they should purchase it at booking, the statement said. It marks the latest change at Southwest, which had long been known for letting its passengers pick their own seats after boarding the plane, and for letting their bags fly for free, which ended in May. Those perks were key to differentiating the budget carrier from its rivals. Southwest says it will still refund a second ticket under its new policy for extra seating if the flight isn’t fully booked at the time of departure, and if both of the passenger’s tickets were purchased in the same booking class. The passenger also needs to request the refund within 90 days of the flight. If a passenger who needs an extra seat doesn’t purchase one ahead of time, they will be required to buy one at the airport, according to the new policy. If the flight is full, the passenger will be rebooked onto a new flight. Jason Vaughn, an Orlando-based travel agent who posts theme park reviews and travel tips for plus-size people on social media and his website, Fat Travel Tested, said the change will likely impact travelers of all sizes. Southwests current policy helped create a more comfortable flying experience for plus-size travelers, he said, while also ensuring all passengers have adequate space in their seats. I think its going to make the flying experience worse for everybody, he said of the new rule. Vaughn described the change as yet another letdown for Southwest loyalists like himself, likening it to Cracker Barrel’s recent logo change that has angered some of the restaurant’s fans. They have no idea anymore who their customer is, he said of the airline. “They have no identity left. The airline has struggled recently and is under pressure from activist investors to boost profits and revenue. It also said last year that it would charge customers extra for more legroom and offer red-eye flights. Rio Yamat, AP airlines writer
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E-Commerce
Is Spirit Airlines about to breach the final Frontier? Frontier Airlines appears to be readying a knockout blow against its chief rival in the low-cost airfare space by announcing 20 new routes, set to begin later this year. That includes new routes from cities like Detroit, Houston, Baltimore, Fort Lauderdale, Charlotte, and Dallas, with more on the way for 2026. One-way fares for those routes will be as low as $29 (from Baltimore to Houston), and as high as $89 (from Detroit to Cancun). While those low fares may sound exciting to travelers, the additional routes also appear to serve as a major attempt at swiping customers away from struggling Spirit Airlines, which has said that its quickly losing lift. Spirit warned that it could not make it through the end of the year without more capital. In its latest quarterly report, filed earlier this month, the company noted that adverse market conditions, including elevated domestic capacity and continued weak demand for domestic leisure travel in the second quarter of 2025, resulting in a challenging pricing environment. As a result, the Company continues to experience challenges and uncertainties in its business operations and expects these trends to continue for at least the remainder of 2025. This follows previous warnings from the company, including a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing late last year. It had also previously held merger talks with Frontier, which broke down in November. Frontier had also offered another merger earlier this year, which Spirit rejected. Now, it appears Frontier is going on offense, expanding its offerings, and potentially enticing away Spirits passengerswhich could prove a death knell for the struggling airline. We see a clear path to being the number one low-fare carrier in the top 20 U.S. metros, said Barry Biffle, CEO, Frontier Airlines, in a statement. As industry capacity adjusts, we want to ensure consumers in those markets continue to have affordable flight options. As a part of those adjustments, its possible that Biffle is hinting at Spirits potential grounding.
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E-Commerce
The U.S. Department of Justices (DOJ) long-running case against Google, in which Judge Amit Mehta ruled in April that Google monopolized the digital advertising market on the open web (and reaffirmed that ruling earlier this month), is expected to reach another milestone imminently. A final ruling on remedies could come within days or weeks. The two sides remain far apart on what they consider acceptable remedies. The DOJ has proposed a litany of options, while Google countered with a narrower proposal: ending non-exclusive browser agreements but retaining revenue-sharing arrangements with browser developers. What Judge Mehta decides could materially shape Googles futureand the way millions of people use the webgiven Chrome commands two-thirds of the browser market. What Judge Mehta decides could materially shape Googles futureand the way millions of people use the webgiven Chrome commands two-thirds of the browser market. The potential for an adverse remedy ruling in the case has been an overhang on Alphabet stock and could negatively impact the Streets perception of Alphabets terminal value, says Justin Post, a research analyst at Bank of America (BofA) Securities. Not only would such a ruling impact search operations in the US, in our view, but we also think would set an example for international regulatory agencies. Until Judge Mehtas ruling comes through, all options remain on the table though some appear far more likely than others. Total divestiture One potential remedy the DOJ has floated is forcing Google to divest from Chrome and barring it from developing another browser for five years. The looming threat has even spurred interest from suitors such as Perplexity, whose $34.5 billion bid Fast Companys Mark Sullivan described as more stunt than strategy. Legal experts, however, view this as the least likely outcome. I’m skeptical that a compelled divestiture of Chrome would be good for users, and thus skeptical that it would be ordered by the judge, says Anupam Chander, professor of law and technology at Georgetown University. Chander points out that such a move would expand the number of companies holding vast troves of user datacurrently concentrated with two largely trusted firms, Apple and Google. Adding more companies to that mix is scary, he says, suggesting Judge Mehta may be reluctant to take that path. The numbers reinforce that skepticism: The trial established that about half of all general search queries in the U.S. stem from entry points tied to Googles contracts the DOJ deems anti-competitive. According to a Bank of America analysis, Google could lose between 5% and 70% of Chromes search share if divestiture were ordered. Limiting agreements and adding choice screens A more likely remedy would resemble the choice screens seen in Europe, where users select their default search engine upon setup. I have a Samsung that ships not with Android search, but Google Search and Chrome, notes Chander. We might see it competing with DeepSeek or OpenAIs ChatGPT as the default engine, or Perplexity. Google currently secures default placement on many devices through lucrative exclusivity deals. Those contracts pay off: trial documents revealed that 61.8% of iOS search queries run through Safaris default engineGoogleand 80% of Android queries do the same. Internal Google estimates suggested losing Apples default position could wipe out $28.2 billion to $32.7 billion in revenue and up to 80% of iOS search volume. Sharing search data Another idea on the table is requiring Google to open its search index and ad data to rivals. But this remedy faces steep hurdles. Does the European Union and do data protection authorities want Google to be sharing that data with third parties? asks Chander. Whos going to be allowed to get that data? For that reason, he sees it as a non-starter. Whatever Judge Mehta orders, the battle is unlikely to end soon. The legal process could extend well into 2027, as Google has indicated it will appeal, says Post. But appeals may not play in Googles favor. The trial court [run by Mehta] is the one that has the most knowledge of the case, says Chander. Appeals court wont have the level of day-to-day knowledge of the workings and the sophisticated understanding the trial judge has.
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E-Commerce
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