Launching Assigned Seating
I led the digital product team through one of Southwest Airlines’ most transformative changes in company history—the transition to assigned seating for flights departing January 27, 2026 and beyond.
The Challenge
As I described it at the time: “It’s a bit like having a heart transplant while running a marathon.” Activating assigned seating while keeping millions of people shopping for tickets and over half a million people flying each day required unprecedented coordination.
Scale of Transformation
This initiative required:
- 30+ departments working in unison
- Tens of thousands of employees trained on new processes
- Hundreds of thousands of hours of preparation
- Hundreds of systems updated simultaneously
My Leadership Role
Our Digital Team worked hand-in-hand with partners across Southwest, leading:
- Customer research and design studies to understand preferences
- Business definition and requirements for the booking experience
- Analytics planning to measure success and identify issues
- Cross-functional coordination ensuring all touchpoints aligned
Activation
From the Command Center, I coordinated with team members across Southwest and partners including Amadeus and Slalom. The photo from activation night captured just a small slice of the cross-functional team that made this possible—representing many departments, systems, and partners working together seamlessly.
The Result
We successfully updated the Southwest app and website to support the new assigned seating experience, with a phased rollout that maintained operational excellence throughout.
This project exemplifies what makes operating a major airline one of the most complex team sports—and demonstrates how thoughtful digital product leadership can help navigate transformative change without skipping a beat.
Coordinated 30+ departments, tens of thousands of people, and hundreds of systems for a seamless activation.
