Southwest Airlines is changing a seating policy that accommodates plus-size passengers, making it more difficult for them to obtain a refund for an extra seat. The new policy, which will go into effect Jan. 27, is part of sweeping changes that will more closely align the airline with its competitors.

Over the past several months, Southwest Airlines has announced the end of two longstanding policies as it has begun charging customers for checked baggage and charging customers to select their seats, ending its longstanding open-seating policy.