Well, the major announcement that we thought was coming on July 11th, has finally happened. Southwest is finally eliminating its current boarding and seating system and moving to assigned seating and premium seating options. The airline will also begin operating redeye (overnight) flights for the first time in its history.
Southwest Introduces Assigned and Premium Seating
In its press release, Southwest states that they made the decision to assign seats and offer premium seating options “after listening carefully to Customers and conducting extensive research”. The airline goes on to state that 80% of current customers and 86% of potential customers wanted assigned seating.
I don’t think a massive study was needed to understand that most passengers, with the exception of some that exploited the system, weren’t big fans of numbered boarding positions based on check-in time. The system worked 50 years ago when the airline was flying the Texas Triangle but, as the airline notes, more customers are taking longer flights, including flights to Hawaii and Latin America.
One of the more interesting nuggets of information in the announcement was the fact that, when customers elected to stop flying Southwest and switch to a competitor, open seating was cited as the primary reason. The airline states:
“By moving to an assigned seating model, Southwest expects to broaden its appeal and attract more flying from its current and future Customers.”
Southwest Media Release
Also in the announcement is the fact that the airline plans to offer premium, extra-legroom seating. Specifics are still being determined but the airline states that it expects roughly one third of the seats across the fleet to feature extra-legroom.
Bob Jordan, President, CEO, & Vice Chairman of the Board of the Dallas based carrier, had this to say about the changes that will upend one of the key components of the airline’s business model over the last 50+ years:
“Moving to assigned seating and offering premium legroom options will be a transformational change that cuts across almost all aspects of the Company. 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. “
Bob Jordan, Southwest President, CEO, & Vice Chairman of the Board
Though Jordan hinted at these changes earlier in the year, the pressure ramped up when an activist investor took a massive stake in the airline and began pushing for changes. These included, but weren’t limited to, conducting a comprehensive business review and removing Jordan and other executives from the helm. In the eyes of the customer, especially the one writing this post, these changes are a step in the right direction.
Redeye Flights on the Horizon
While passengers may or may not be fans of this next update, it is nice to see Southwest finally introducing redeye flights. From an airline utilization perspective this is a no brainer and people do end up taking them, especially because they are typically cheaper. These always seem like a good idea at booking, not so much when it comes time to actually take the flight.
Throughout the airline’s history it has never, ever operated a redeye flight. Up until 2017 it wasn’t even possible for them to operate since all aircraft had to be on the ground by 2:00a ET. This was to allow the airline to load the following day’s flights into the system and reset the operation.
Since 2017, the airline has had the technical capabilities and, with recently amended pilot and flight attendant union contracts, now it has the people. Redeye flights are scheduled to begin on Valentine’s Day 2025 (nothing says I love you like a midnight departure) on five routes and will be expanded from there. The routes are:
- Las Vegas (LAS) to Baltimore (BWI)
- Las Vegas (LAS) to Orlando (MCO)
- Los Angeles (LAX) to Baltimore (BWI)
- Los Angeles (LAX) to Nashville (BNA)
- Phoenix (PHX) to Baltimore (BWI)
These routes don’t come as a major surprise as they are all essentially transcon flights, allowing you to depart late at night, hopefully get some sleep on the plane, and arrive the next morning. They also all are between Southwest focus cities which will allow the airline to move planes around the network.
Summary
We’re finally seeing some significant, positive changes at Southwest. After more than 50 years of flying the airline is finally joining every other airline in the United States in offering assigned seating. In addition, premium, extra-legroom seating is being introduced along with redeye flights.
While we don’t have many details on the timeline for the rollout of assigned seating and aircraft modifications for extra legroom seating, today’s announcement is a step in the right direction and I look forward to trying out the new Southwest once the updates have been made.
