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Major changes to Southwest Airlines’ business and boarding processes are coming — but not for a while.

Free seats will not disappear for more than a year. The airline announced on Thursday that its passengers will be able to book a reserved seat at the end of 2025 and these seats will be available on flights from the beginning of 2026.

Southwest announced in July that it would move away from the open seating model it has been known for throughout its 53-year history. It was also announced that premium seats would be offered for the first time. Currently there is the same seating class in all cabins.

One reason Southwest isn’t rolling out its assigned seating model sooner is that it will take time to reconfigure the premium seats on the planes. But reserved seating is available on virtually every other airline and could have started much earlier. Southwest pushed back its expected launch date in an announcement as part of its Investor Day presentation on Thursday. It has not been announced when the premium seats with more legroom between the seats will be available.

In July, Southwest CEO Robert Jordan told investors that the company plans to sell assigned seating starting in 2025. Technically, this will be achieved by allowing passengers to book these seats at the end of next year. But if assigned seating isn’t available until 2026, it could disappoint passengers who want assigned seating. According to Southwest, 80% of customers and 86% of passengers choosing other airlines want assigned seating.

Southwest is under pressure from an activist shareholder group, Elliott Investment Management, that wants to replace its top management and make other changes to improve its profitability. The airline insists the plans for assigned seating were already in the works before Elliott’s pressure.

The company also announced that it would partner with foreign airlines to offer its passengers the opportunity to book overseas flights. Southwest has far fewer international flights than its three largest competitors, American, United and Delta Airlines. The first partnership will be with Icelandair next year and will fly from its Baltimore-Washington International Airport hub.

The airline confirmed an earlier statement that it will continue to allow passengers to check up to two pieces of baggage free of charge. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the U.S. airline industry collected $3.7 billion in baggage fees in the first half of this year alone, with just 1% of that coming from Southwest passengers checking more than two bags. But Southwest insisted that not charging for the first two bags will have a positive impact on the bottom line.

“Bags fly free” is mentioned as the number one topic in terms of why customers choose Southwest,” Jordan said in July.

“The company believes that any change in current policy … would reduce demand and far outweigh the revenue increases generated by the collection and collection of baggage fees,” it said Thursday.

Jordan also told investors in July that the baggage fee would delay the time it takes to load planes as passengers look for a place to store carry-on luggage they are in the process of checking. The airline said Thursday that part of its plan to improve profitability is to further improve its turnaround times when planes are grounded.

One thing Southwest announced to investors on Thursday was its plan to spend $2.5 billion to buy back its shares. Shares of Southwest (LUV), essentially flat year-to-date through Wednesday’s close, rose more than 6% in premarket trading on the news.

This story has been updated with additional reporting and context.