Southwest Airlines has announced several new initiatives as part of its “strategic transformation.” It plans to start assigning seats thus dropping its well-known open seating policy, offer premium seating options, redesign the boarding model and introduce redeye flights.
Assigned and Premium Seating
After conducting consumer research, Southwest has decided to assign seats and offer premium seating options on all flights. In a press release, the airline says that although the airline is known for “its unique open seating model…preferences have evolved with more customers taking longer flights where a seat assignment is preferred.”
With this move, Southwest expects to “broaden its appeal and attract more flying from its current and future customers.”
Additionally, Southwest will offer a premium, extended legroom portion of the cabin. Specific cabin layout details are still in design, but Southwest expects roughly one-third of seats across the fleet will offer extended legroom, in line with that offered by industry peers on narrowbody aircraft.
The decision to update the seating and boarding model is part of Southwest’s ongoing “modernization efforts.” The past two years has seen Southwest enhance its onboard offerings with improvements such as faster WiFi, in-seat power and larger overhead bins.
“Moving to assigned seating and offering premium legroom options will be a transformational change that cuts across almost all aspects of the company,” said Bob Jordan, President, CEO, & Vice Chairman of the Board, in a press release statement. “Although our unique open seating model has been a part of Southwest Airlines since our inception, our thoughtful and extensive research makes it clear this is the right choice—at the right time—for our customers, our people, and our shareholders. We are excited to incorporate customer and employee feedback to design a unique experience that only Southwest can deliver. We have been building purposefully to this change as part of a comprehensive upgrade to the Southwest experience as we focus on customer expectations—and it will unlock new sources of revenue consistent with our laser focus on delivering improved financial performance.”
Redeye Flights Now for Sale on Southwest Airlines
Southwest also announced it is adding 24-hour operation capabilities with the introduction of overnight, redeye flights. Booking on initial routes is available today, with the first overnight flights landing on Valentine’s Day 2025 in five initial nonstop markets: Las Vegas to Baltimore and Orlando; Los Angeles to Baltimore and Nashville; and Phoenix to Baltimore. Southwest plans to phase in additional redeye flying in the carrier’s coming schedules as part of its multi-year transformation to a 24-hour operation.
Southwest will share further details about product designs, cabin layout, timing and incremental financial value at its Investor Day in late September. The move to assigned and premium seating will be significant. The new cabin layout will require approvals from the Federal Aviation Administration. Southwest expects to make bookings available in 2025.
