Booking Southwest Seat

[Sara_H]

Although Concur will allow to choose a seat with Southwest in Feb, how can I book my southwest flights today? It does not allow me to select any seat and all seats are grayed out for all flights. Thank you!

[Lindasisung]

You can book Southwest Airlines flights today in SAP Concur, but seat selection is not available yet—that’s expected behavior right now.

Why seats are grayed out:

Southwest does not assign seats at booking. They use open seating, so all seat maps appear unavailable (grayed out) in Concur. The February update you’ve heard about will improve how Southwest displays in Concur, but it will not change Southwest’s seating model.

What to do today:

1. Book the flight as usual in Concur (ignore the seat map).
2. After booking, check in exactly 24 hours before departure via the Southwest app or website to receive your boarding position (A, B, or C).
3. Your boarding position determines when you board and which open seat you can choose on the plane.

Optional tips for better boarding position:

• Purchase EarlyBird Check-In (if allowed by policy)
• Set a calendar reminder for the 24-hour check-in window
• Use the Southwest mobile app for fastest check-in

Key takeaway:

Nothing is broken 😊 — Southwest seat selection is intentionally unavailable until boarding.

[KevinD]

@Sara_H Assigned seats for Southwest doesn't start until January 27th, 2026, from what I read. 

[EllenR]

Southwest seat selection for flights booked for travel before January 27th still are open seating as correctly described by  Lindasisung in this thread.  However, Southwest is changing so that flights departing January 27th and later will allow seat selection.  Unfortunately, we are waiting for an update from the GDS on their ability to return the seat information and allow seat selection, at which time we will have work to do to accommodate their change.   Until then, Southwest flights can be booked; however, seat selection would then have to be done directly with Southwest by using the Southwest confirmation number to pull up your reservation in the Southwest website or app.