Woman Tries To Book Southwest Flight From Kansas City To New York. Then She Looks At The Seat Map: ‘This Is Why I Don’t Book Southwest’

Southwest Airlines used to be a great solution for Americans traveling on a budget.

But ever since the airline started to raise prices, move to assign seating, and add additional charges for checked bags, some travelers have decided to switch to other airlines.

One convert recently shared her story of why she is no longer flying with the airline. According to her, the airline pulled a move on her that made her feel she was being scammed.

What’s Going On With This Seat Map?

In a video with over 112,000 views, TikTok user Nicole (@nicole_rose1) explains why she believes airlines are “getting away with scamming us.”

According to Nicole, she was in the process of booking a flight from Kansas City to New York with Southwest when she was presented with two options: Choice Preferred and Choice Extra.

“I chose Choice Extra, right? To change my flight—$300—mainly extra legroom,” she says, listing the selection’s benefits and costs.

However, when she got to the next page, she says she saw that none of the extra legroom seats were available.

“You might be [thinking], ‘Well, they’re full.’ They’re not,” she states. From here, she hits “Choice Preferred,” the cheaper option that does not advertise extra legroom. Suddenly, the extra legroom seats are available—for an additional fee.

“This is why I don’t book Southwest,” she concludes. “This will absolutely be my last flight on Southwest.”

Is This A Scam?

Some commenters were quick to point out that, if one adds the price of the preferred seat to the additional extra legroom cost, it would come out to be lower than the price of an extra seat. What these commenters are ignoring is that the extra seat comes with two checked bags, while the preferred seat does not. This means the total cost is likely higher, which Nicole thinks is “ridiculous.”

Nicole isn’t the only one to report this problem. Several users on Reddit claim to have experienced the same issue. That said, no one can say why this is the case.

However, there do appear to be ways around it. One user on Reddit stated that they were able to book the fare, then hit “modify seat.” From there, they could book a seat with extra legroom without paying extra.

This led some on the site to speculate that this could simply be a glitch. That said, it’s just one of many problems that internet users have reported since Southwest began making major changes.

Other Southwest Problems

Since Southwest started instituting changes like assigned seating and checked bag fees, guests have reported a host of issues actually trying to use the airline.

For example, one Southwest customer said she paid for a seat with extra legroom near the front, only to be made to board the plane late and store her luggage in the back, negating the benefits of being in the front of the plane. Another said they bought an assigned seat on a flight but were told the day before their journey that they were moved to standby.

In situations like Nicole’s, it appears that there is little one can do apart from filing a complaint with the airline. In the meantime, she will just have to use the workaround discovered by the aforementioned Reddit user.

Viewers Say It’s A Scam

In the comments section, users called out the current state of the American airline market.

“We NEED legislation to do something about flying because this is getting absurd,” wrote a user.

“I booked with a southwest credit card to get choice of seats 48 hours before my flight, only to find out the only choices available are middle seats separating my family of 5. Meanwhile several pay seats are still available,” alleged another.

“I flew SWA religiously because of the general seating and 2 free bags,” shared a third. “As soon as they removed those benefits, I stopped flying with them and never will again.”

BroBible reached out to Nicole via TikTok direct message and comment as well as to Southwest Airlines via email.