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Around this time last year, Southwest Airlines announced that it would scrap its signature open-seating model in favor of a more traditional assigned seating system, chipping away at its identity as a quirky airline in order to better compete with rivals like Delta Air Lines and American Airlines. A year later, Southwest is finally gearing up to sell its first assigned-seat tickets. Over the past few months, Southwest has been slowly shedding the features that once made its brand stand out. The airline built its name around its uniquely standardized open-seating boarding systemwhich meant that every customer flew in the same kind of seat, without any divisions by price tier. Last July, though, the airline announced that it would implement new premium features (like seats with expanded legroom) and assigned seating. This March, Southwest killed its bags fly free policy, which offered every flier two free checked bags. And in April, the airline overhauled its fare bundles to include more expensive fares with better amenities. Southwest expects these new policies, among others, to add $800 million to earnings before interest and taxes this year, and add $1.7 billion in 2026. Starting on July 29, Southwest will sell assigned-seat tickets, and planes with the updated seating will take to the skies on January 27 of next year. The airline recently shared more details about how its boarding process is set to change. Less time pressure, but a more segmented cabin Southwests current open-seating boarding process is simple: Passengers line up behind stanchions based on their boarding group (labeled by letters A to C) and then pick an available seat once theyre on board the plane. In an investors call last July, Southwests executive vice president Ryan Green noted that this process is relatively calm but can create time pressure once customers are inside the cabin. Some of that pressure will be alleviated under this new system, with the trade-off being that the cabin will now be segmented into standard and premium seating sections. In an interview with CNBC, Southwest executives shared that the new boarding system was designed using computer models and live testing in order to ensure that the assigned seating wouldnt slow the process down. We wanted to make sure that, as we designed a boarding construct that paired well with assigned seating, we were optimizing for efficiency. But also for the second priority: making sure that were taking care of our most loyal customers, Stephanie Shafer Modi, managing director of fares and ancillary products at Southwest, told CNBC. [That includes] tier members, cardholders, and customers who buy our most premium products. An eight-group boarding system The updated boarding system reflects Southwest’s increasing focus on high-paying passengers. Under the new parameters, customers will be prompted to choose a fare bundle when they first purchase a ticket, and they’ll receive a letter and a seat number when they check in onlinesimilar to the current system. However, once they arrive at the airport, passengers will be separated into two lines and eight different boarding groups: The first two groups to board will include the top tiers of elite frequent fliers, and those with the top classes of tickets (Choice Extra and Choice Plus). Groups 3 through 8 will be for Choice and Basic ticket holders, depending on their seat location. Credit card holders and Rapid Rewards credit card members will board no later than Group 5. Despite the changes, Green said last July: We expect our future boarding process to feel very familiar and uniquely Southwest.
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E-Commerce
The FDA has issued a recall for more than 67,000 cases of deodorant which are sold nationwide. The products, Power Stick roll-on deodorants, are made by the Easton, Pennsylvania-based company A.P. Deauville. Per an enforcement notice, the recall includes three separate products: the Power Stick For Her Roll-On Antiperspirant Deodorant in the scent power fresh,” the Power Stick Invisible Protection Roll-On Antiperspirant Deodorant in the scent spring fresh,” and the Power Stick Original Nourishing Invisible Protection Roll-On Antiperspirant Deodorant.Over 20,000 cases of each product were recalled. The enforcement notice marked the reason for the recall as “cGMP deviations”, which stands for Current Good Manufacturing Practice. Per the FDA website, failure to meet CGMP regulations can lead to products being recalled.The FDA notes, “Adherence to the CGMP regulations assures the identity, strength, quality, and purity of drug products by requiring that manufacturers of medications adequately control manufacturing operations. This includes establishing strong quality management systems, obtaining appropriate quality raw materials, establishing robust operating procedures, detecting and investigating product quality deviations, and maintaining reliable testing laboratories.”The recall was announced on July 10 and is ongoing. While the products did not meet FDA standards, an exact reason for the recall was not disclosed. No injuries have been reported.According to the enforcement report, the products were distributed nationwide. They are regularly sold at Dollar Tree, Amazon, and Walmart.
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E-Commerce
Now that President Donald Trump’s so-called “big, beautiful bill” is the law, you’re probably wondering how much you’ll save on your taxes when you file next year. The Tax Policy Center (TPC), a nonpartisan think tank staffed by the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, has crunched the numbers. Here’s a rundown. What does the new tax bill do? Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) offers Americans a number of tax benefits by extending the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), making many of the changes permanent, plus adding some new short- and long-term tax rules. Those changes include certain business and international tax rules, and revenue-raising provisionsincluding the repeal of various energy tax incentives, according to the TPC. What is the average 2026 tax savings from Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill”? An analysis from the TPC shows the new law would reduce taxes for Americans by about $2,900 on average in 2026, with some 85% of households receiving a tax cut in 2026. That figure will drop to just 70% in 2030, after some provisions are phased out. But notably, almost 60% of the tax benefits would go to those in the top quintile, or one-fifth of earners, with incomes of $217,000 or more. It’s fair to say that higher-income Americans are more likely to see larger tax benefits than lower-income Americans. Overall, about 4% of households would see their taxes go up in 2026; that percentage would increase to about 10% in 2030. How much will each income bracket save on their 2026 taxes? According to the data compiled by the Tax Policy Center, here’s how much the average 2026 tax savings will be for each of the five quintiles of income, as well as the top 1% and 0.1%: Bottom 20% ($0 to $34,600 income range): $150 Second quintile ($34,601 to $66,800): $750 Third quintile ($66,801 to $119,200): $1,780 Fourth quintile ($119,201 to $217,100): $3,460 Top 20% ($217,101 and higher): $12,540 Top 1% ($1,149,000 and higher): $75,410 Top 0.1% ($5,184,900 and higher): $286,440 What are some specific tax benefits included in the new bill? There are a number of new tax write-offs and credits, including: the No Tax on Tips provision (which allows eligible tipped workers to deduct a portion of their income from tips on their federal income taxes), a car loan deduction, a deduction for charitable donations, and a child credit.
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E-Commerce
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