Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 seat map (single class)
All-Economy with assigned & premium seating (2026)
737 MAX 8economy175 seats
Not yet confirmed against a primary source. Treat row-level detail as indicative and check at booking.
No row number is skipped on this aircraft. Southwest numbers it 1 to 30 straight through and uses both row 13 and row 17, which many airlines leave out. Extra Legroom, Preferred and Standard are Southwest's seat bands rather than separate cabins, and the two Extra Legroom blocks (rows 1 to 5, and rows 14 to 16 around the overwing exits) have ordinary rows between them, so the numbering runs on through all of them.
Our best current understanding, not yet confirmed against a primary source.
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About this cabin
Southwest Airlines' 737 MAX 8 in this configuration seats 175 (Y/Y/Y/Y/Y/Y/Y). This is our best current estimate for this layout, built mainly from secondary sources — treat exact seat-by-seat detail with a little more caution than usual. Southwest Airlines flies only this one cabin layout on the 737 MAX 8 — no version lottery on this type.
Quick pick, by traveller
| If you're… | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Travelling solo | 15B | A window seat rated highly with nothing working against it — lean on the wall, control the shade, nobody climbing over you. |
| Travelling as a couple | 15B | This row's layout puts a genuine two-seat pair here — no middle seat exists in this group, so it's just the two of you. |
| Tall passengers | 15B | Genuine extra legroom that also still reclines — not every extra-legroom seat does. |
| Nervous flyers | 16B | Over the wing, close to the aircraft's structural centre of gravity — the smoothest ride on board when it's bumpy. |
| Trying to sleep | 3A | A window seat away from galley and lavatory traffic, so aisle lights and trolley passes are less likely to wake you. |
Seat map
Extra Legroom (economy)
Extra Legroom spans rows 1–5 and 14–16 in a 3-seat layout, 34in pitch. Worth avoiding: 2C, 2D, 1D, 2A — next to galley.
Preferred (economy)
Preferred spans rows 6–13 in a 3-3 layout, 31in pitch. Worth avoiding: 13C, 13D — seat doesn't recline.
Standard (economy)
Standard spans rows 17–30 in a 3-3 layout, 31in pitch. Worth avoiding: 30C, 30D, 30A, 30B — seat doesn't recline.
Cabin specs
| Cabin | Pitch | Width | Recline | Power | IFE | Wifi |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extra Legroom | 34" | — | — | USB-A and USB-C at each seat back - standard on new MAX 8s, retrofit under way on the rest | — | Basic |
| Preferred | 31" | — | — | USB-A and USB-C at each seat back - standard on new MAX 8s, retrofit under way on the rest | — | Basic |
| Standard | 31" | — | — | USB-A and USB-C at each seat back - standard on new MAX 8s, retrofit under way on the rest | — | Basic |
Seats to avoid
| Seat | Cabin | Why to avoid it |
|---|---|---|
| 2C | Extra Legroom | A galley is directly next to you, so expect crew activity, cart noise and light throughout the flight, especially during meal service. |
| 2D | Extra Legroom | A galley is directly next to you, so expect crew activity, cart noise and light throughout the flight, especially during meal service. |
| 1D | Extra Legroom | A galley is directly next to you, so expect crew activity, cart noise and light throughout the flight, especially during meal service. |
| 2A | Extra Legroom | A galley is directly next to you, so expect crew activity, cart noise and light throughout the flight, especially during meal service. |
| 13C | Preferred | This is the last row of the cabin, or the row directly in front of an exit, so the seat back is fixed upright for the whole flight. |
| 13D | Preferred | This is the last row of the cabin, or the row directly in front of an exit, so the seat back is fixed upright for the whole flight. |
| 30C | Standard | This is the last row of the cabin, or the row directly in front of an exit, so the seat back is fixed upright for the whole flight. |
| 30D | Standard | This is the last row of the cabin, or the row directly in front of an exit, so the seat back is fixed upright for the whole flight. |
| 30A | Standard | This is the last row of the cabin, or the row directly in front of an exit, so the seat back is fixed upright for the whole flight. |
| 30B | Standard | This is the last row of the cabin, or the row directly in front of an exit, so the seat back is fixed upright for the whole flight. |
Known quirks on this aircraft
- Seat doesn't recline (18 seats: 13A, 13B, 13C, and 15 more) — This is the last row of the cabin, or the row directly in front of an exit, so the seat back is fixed upright for the whole flight.
- High foot traffic (13 seats: 1D, 2C, 2D, and 10 more) — This aisle seat sits right next to a lavatory, galley or exit, so expect a steady stream of people brushing past, especially early and late in the flight.
- No underseat storage (13 seats: 1D, 1E, 1F, and 10 more) — Bulkhead and exit-row seats have nothing in front of the seat to store a bag under, so your bag must go in the overhead bin for the whole flight.
- Wing blocks the view (6 seats: 14A, 14F, 15B, and 3 more) — The wing sits directly outside this window, blocking most of the view — but you also get one of the smoothest, quietest rides on the aircraft.
Frequently asked
- How many seats does Southwest Airlines' 737 MAX 8 have in this configuration?
- 175 seats in total, arranged as Y/Y/Y/Y/Y/Y/Y. This is one specific configuration — Southwest Airlines' fleet may include other configurations of the same aircraft type, covered below.
- Is this the only cabin layout Southwest Airlines flies on the 737 MAX 8?
- Yes, as far as we can determine — Southwest Airlines flies only this one cabin layout on the 737 MAX 8. There's no "version lottery" to worry about on this specific type for this airline.
- Which seats should I avoid?
- Seat 2C in Extra Legroom is worth avoiding: A galley is directly next to you, so expect crew activity, cart noise and light throughout the flight, especially during meal service. The full seat map marks every seat we'd steer you away from, with the specific reason for each.
- Does the 737 MAX 8 have wifi and power in this configuration?
- Extra Legroom has basic wifi and USB-A and USB-C at each seat back - standard on new MAX 8s, retrofit under way on the rest power at the seat. Power and wifi can vary by cabin on the same aircraft — check the cabin specs table above for every class.
- How confident are you in this seat map?
- This configuration is marked "provisional" — assembled from secondary sources and not yet confirmed against a primary one. See the sources and last-verified date lower on this page.
- Has a real person checked these individual seat scores?
- Not yet for this specific configuration. The scores above come from our rules engine, which reasons from real aircraft geometry, but they aren't marked as human-verified until someone has actually reviewed the unusual ones — see the verification section below for the current status.
Related
Other airlines flying the 737 MAX 8
- Oman Air 737 MAX 8 — Business and Economy Class, two-class Boeing 737 MAX 8J/Y
- Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX 8 — Cloud Nine and Economy on the Boeing 737 MAX 8J/Y
- Royal Air Maroc 737 MAX 8 — Business and Economy, standard configuration (12C/144Y)J/Y/Y
- Ryanair 737 MAX 8 — Gamechanger, single classY/Y
- SunExpress 737 MAX 8 — All-economy cabin on the Boeing 737 MAX 8 (737-8)Y/Y
- Icelandair 737 MAX 8 — Saga Premium and Economy on the Boeing 737 MAX 8J/Y
- Xiamen Airlines 737 MAX 8 — Business and Economy, 174 seats (Xiamen Air Layout B)J/Y/Y/Y
- Air Canada 737 MAX 8 — Air Canada Rouge Business and Economy, 177-seat 737 MAX 8J/Y/Y
Other aircraft Southwest Airlines flies
Data sources & verification
- Configuration last verified
- , against Southwest Airlines' own published seat map and fleet data below.
- Seat-by-seat scores
- Generated from the configuration data below by our rules engine. Awaiting human review before individual scores are published as verified.
- Fleet status
- Fitted fleet-wide — 100% of aircraft on this type carry this cabin.
- Seat lettering
- We haven't confirmed this cabin's exact seat letters against Southwest Airlines' own diagram yet. The seat count and layout are sourced; on a wide-body in particular, individual seat letters (e.g. whether a row has a seat G) may be off by one position until we do. We're working through these one airline at a time and will remove this note once it's checked.
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Seat reviews
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