Major Business News of the Week: Southwest Airlines Seat Selection Policy, PayPal World Launch, PepsiCo Prebiotic Cola Debut, and More.

This week's press releases include Southwest Airlines' new seat selection policy, PayPal's debut of PayPal World, and PepsiCo's prebiotic cola. Other stories include The Conference Board's Leading Economic Index for the US declining in June, Chili's and Tecovas teaming up to turn iconic red booths into boots, and Instructure and OpenAI announcing a global partnership to embed AI learning experiences within Canvas.

Southwest Airlines, the Texas-based discount carrier, has announced a significant shift in its boarding policy. Effective January 27, 2026, Southwest will implement assigned seating, ending its long-standing open seating policy [1]. The change comes as the airline seeks to enhance customer experience and optimize revenue strategies.

Tony Roach, executive vice president of customer & brand at Southwest Airlines, stated that assigned seating will unlock new opportunities for customers, including the ability to select Extra Legroom seats and remove the uncertainty of seat assignments [1]. Passengers can start booking flights with assigned seats from July 29, 2025.

In addition to the new seating policy, Southwest is also overhauling its boarding process. The new system will group passengers based on seat location, with priority given to those with extra legroom and loyalty program members. Passengers can also pay for priority boarding to move up in the queue [1]. The new boarding sequence will use group numbers from 1 to 8, replacing the current group letter and number system.

The new policy aligns with Southwest's broader shift in revenue strategy, which includes the recent elimination of its "bags fly free" policy. Effective May 28, passengers will pay $35 for the first checked bag and $45 for the second [1].

Separately, PayPal has introduced PayPal World, a unified platform designed to connect the world’s most widely used digital wallets and payment systems. The first step in this rollout will see PayPal and Venmo become interoperable, with Mercado Pago, UPI, and Tenpay Global joining the network [3]. This move aims to simplify cross-border payments and provide merchants with access to global payment methods without additional integrations.

These announcements highlight the evolving strategies of major players in the aviation and financial sectors, each seeking to enhance customer experience and revenue models. Southwest's shift to assigned seating and PayPal's PayPal World demonstrate the industry's ongoing adaptation to changing consumer preferences and technological advancements.

References:
[1] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/southwest-assigned-seating-boarding-july-2025/
[2] https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/2025/07/22/southwest-airlines-milwaukees-largest-carrier-ending-open-seating/85325398007/
[3] https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/paypal-world-launch-targets-2-billion-2026-marcel-van-oost-lm13f