Southwest Airlines sets date for launch of assigned seats

Driving the news: Southwest's signature boarding process will be replaced by a completely different system, the company announced on Monday.

• Beginning Jan. 27, there will be eight boarding groups based on seat selection and loyalty status, among other factors, with priority going to holders of more expensive tickets.
• The first two groups will go to top tiers of frequent flyers, and the later groups will be reserved for "choice" and "basic" ticket holders.
• The current system will end on Jan. 27, and customers can buy assigned seats starting July 29.

That's a big change from the open-seating system Southwest is known for.

Catch up quick: It's the latest cost-cutting move from Southwest amid difficult times.

• The airline recently ended another of its hallmark policies, free checked bagging.
• That and an end to open seating leaves give it little edge over airlines with higher prices but more perks, or low-cost barebones carriers — leaving it stuck in the muddy middle, Axios' Alex Fitzpatrick writes.

Waning consumer demand has hit Southwest and its peers hard.

Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian told CNBC in March that companies have started "to pull back in terms of corporate spending."

• "Consumer spending started to stall," he added, "Largely domestic, largely in the close-in, but it was also exacerbated, as you know, [by] the uncertainty that's out there, and consumers in a discretionary business do not like uncertainty."