Southwest Airlines moves to assigned seats, adds premium cabin with more legroom, redeye flights

After 53 years providing passengers the flexibility to decide on their very own seats, Southwest Airways is ushering in a brand new period for its boarding course of and can be assigning seats, in addition to providing premium seating on all flights.

Southwest strikes to assigned seats after 53 years of open seating

The Dallas-based service introduced a number of new initiatives on Thursday, billing the redesigned boarding mannequin as “enhancements to remodel buyer expertise and enhance monetary efficiency,” and stating in a press launch that including assigned seats and premium seating meets “evolving buyer preferences.”

Southwest president and CEO Bob Jordan beforehand hinted on the doable change again in April, saying on the time that the transfer to “assigned seating and providing premium legroom choices can be a transformational change that cuts throughout virtually all features of the corporate.”

“Though our distinctive open seating mannequin has been part of Southwest Airways since our inception, our considerate and in depth analysis makes it clear that is the fitting alternative — on the proper time — for our clients, our folks, and our shareholders,” stated Jordan, who additionally serves as vice chairman of the board. “We’ve got been constructing purposefully to this alteration as a part of a complete improve to the Southwest expertise as we concentrate on Buyer expectations — and it’ll unlock new sources of income in line with our laser concentrate on delivering improved monetary efficiency.”

The corporate has not but stated when the seating modifications will go into impact, however plans to offer extra particulars on the product designs, cabin format and timing at its Investor Day in late September.

Any new cabin format on this seating transformation might want to endure approvals from the Federal Aviation Administration.

Southwest carried out “sturdy operational testing” of each dwell and greater than 8 million simulation-based boarding trials, citing analysis that confirmed 80% of its clients and 86% of potential clients want an assigned seat.

“When a buyer elects to cease flying with Southwest and chooses a competitor, open seating is cited because the primary cause for the change,” the corporate famous. “The airline is assured that these buyer enhancements will meet expectations and never compromise the airline’s operational effectivity.”

Southwest Airways provides premium, prolonged legroom cabin

The precise cabin format particulars are nonetheless in design, however Southwest stated it “expects roughly one-third of seats throughout the fleet to supply prolonged legroom, consistent with that provided by trade friends on narrowbody plane.”

Within the final two years, Southwest’s modernization efforts have included enhancements to different onboard choices corresponding to quicker WiFi, in-seat energy, bigger overhead bins and extra snug RECARO seats.

Southwest Airways provides redeye flights

Along with the seating modifications, Southwest additionally introduced it’s formally including 24-hour operation capabilities with in a single day redeye flights “to additional optimize the community and enhance plane utilization.”

Reserving on preliminary routes is on the market beginning Thursday, with the primary in a single day flights touchdown on Valentine’s Day 2025 in 5 preliminary nonstop markets: Las Vegas to Baltimore and Orlando, Los Angeles to Baltimore and Nashville, and Phoenix to Baltimore.

Southwest Airways second quarter monetary outcomes

Thursday’s bulletins got here in tandem with the airline’s second quarter monetary outcomes, which fell in need of expectations, in accordance with Jordan.

Southwest’s RASM (Income per Obtainable Seat Mile), which is a measure of whole income from every seat flown per mile, no matter whether or not it is empty or full, has decreased by 3.8% year-over-year.

The CEO stated the airline is “taking pressing and deliberate steps to mitigate near-term income challenges and implement longer-term transformational initiatives” to assist with monetary high and backside line progress.

“As we introduced this morning, our implementation of assigned and premium seating is a part of an ongoing and complete improve to the Buyer Expertise, one which analysis reveals Clients overwhelmingly want,” he stated.