Assigned seating on Southwest, why late March is great for a trip to Japan and (hold for applause) the TPG Awards

The point of it all, #4

Wow. It’s no longer January? A miracle.

If you were at an airport last weekend, you wouldn’t be surprised to hear that it was the biggest flight cancellation weekend since March 2020.

In 2020, my boyfriend and I lived in downtown Atlanta, and I will never forget going up on our rooftop and looking south, seeing the sky completely devoid of airplanes. Atlanta’s airport, as you’re likely aware, is the busiest in the entire world — and it was at a complete stop.

Luckily, this time around, things were mostly back to normal at the airports by midweek, but all in all, 20,000ish flights were canceled.

Meanwhile, while everyone on the internet was talking about the upcoming Wuthering Heights adaptation and whether Jacob Elordi is fit for the role of Heathcliff, the aviation industry was focused on Southwest Airlines and all its new changes.

Just as Emerald Fennell seems to have made many changes to the original Wuthering Heights story that people hold near and dear, Southwest has done the same with its boarding and seating — and well, we’ll have to see what audiences and Southwest passengers think before deeming either a classic.

Kate Bush forever :’)

For the record, personally, I’m worried people will leave the theater thinking, “Huh, that Heathcliff seems like a good one!” all because of Elordi’s seemingly never-ending charm.

Anyway, here’s what Southwest has changed:

1. You can no longer sit wherever you like. Now you have an assigned seat.

2. The boarding process is now group-based, just like all other airlines’ boarding procedures. (Prior to Jan. 27, you’d get your spot in line at check-in.)

3. Now there’s an official option for bigger seats, which, of course, costs a bigger stack of dollars (or points).

Photos by Sean Cudahy / The Points Guy

The airline has teased even more upcoming changes, so we’ll keep you posted.

Another big headline this week in the world travel industry covers one of my personal favorite times of the year: Cherry blossom season!

Kyoto by Masahiro Makino via Getty Images

Japan has announced that the much-adored and perhaps most famous flowers in the world will bloom in Tokyo beginning March 22, reaching full bloom on March 29.

After this annoyingly harsh winter, spring flowers will be a sight and smell for sore eyes and noses.

Here are other Japanese cities’ estimated blooming timeframes:

• Kyoto - begins March 25, hits full bloom April 2

• Osaka - begins March 25, hits full bloom April 1

• Fukuoka & Hiroshima - begins March 22, hits full bloom April 1-2

• Sendai - begins April 6, hits full bloom April 11

• Sapporo - begins April 26, hits full bloom April 30

Personally, I think three months is the perfect length of time away to plan a little international getaway. Fun fact: Air Canada announced it will fly to Sapporo from Vancouver … just saying.

Air Canada’s Aeroplan points are transferable with Chase points and Capital One miles. You can ALSO book Air Canada flights with United miles if you have them, because they’re both in Star Alliance together … But once again, I’m just saying.

Me in my cherry blossom dreams

Finally, it’s awards season. The Grammys are tonight, sure — but on Thursday, we announced our 2026 TPG AWARDS!

This was our eighth year running, and we picked what we consider the best of the best in the travel industry, whether it be the best credit card for travel, the best points hotel brand and pretty much anything in between.

Here’s a smattering of the airline awards, for example:

You can find all of the award winners here — and meanwhile, I’ll continue longingly thinking about a first-class flight to southern France in La Première. It is AWARD-WINNING, after all.

Until next week, that’s the point of it all.

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