Southwest Airlines will soon make its biggest change in over 50 years by abandoning its long-standing open seating policy and introducing extra legroom options for passengers.
This move, announced Thursday, represents a big shift for the Dallas-based airline as it adapts to evolving customer preferences. Currently, Southwest uses a boarding system where passengers are assigned to one of three groups and a specific boarding number.
“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,” Southwest president, CEO, and vice chairman Bob Jordan said.
Starting next year, Southwest will offer the option of more legroom with about one-third of the seats in its fleet, hoping to enhance passenger comfort while also bringing in some additional revenue. The new seating arrangement will need approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), but Southwest aims to have these options available for customers by early 2025.
The move away from open seating comes after research indicating that many travelers preferred assigned seats and are choosing competitors for this reason. The airline cited as many as 80% of Southwest customers and 86% of potential customers preferring an assigned seating model.
Another move announced was the introduction of overnight flights beginning in February. Over the next three years, Southwest aims to shift into a 24-hour operation. The first redeye routes offered by Southwest will be from Las Vegas to Baltimore and Orlando, Los Angeles to Baltimore and Nashville, and Phoenix to Baltimore.
Southwest’s changes may be in response to recent pressures the company has faced, including demands from Elliott Investment Management, which disclosed a nearly $2 billion stake in Southwest in June and urged for leadership changes due to the airline’s underperformance, according to CNBC.
The new assigned seating and redeye plans aim to address these performance concerns and help Southwest compete more effectively with its rival airlines. However, the first change, in particular, also marks a significant departure from Southwest’s traditional business model, which has historically emphasized simplicity and cost-effectiveness.
Southwest’s announcement comes less than a week after multiple airlines were impacted by the largest global tech outage in human history, as previously covered by The Dallas Express.
The outage led to widespread disruptions for many airlines, especially Delta Air Lines, which continued to have problems scheduling flights this week, as DX reported.
Recent data from FlightAware reveals that between July 19 and July 21, there were 11,015 flight cancellations and 115,860 delays globally. Delta led the field with the highest number of cancellations, totaling 3,382 over that three-day span.