Southwest Airlines announced today that they are ditching open seating in favor of assigned seats. In a press release, the airline stated, “After listening carefully to Customers and conducting extensive research, Southwest decided it will assign seats and offer premium seating options on all flights.
The airline has been known for its unique open seating model for more than 50 years, but preferences have evolved with more Customers taking longer flights where a seat assignment is preferred. Additionally, Southwest conducted robust operational testing that included live and over 8 million simulation-based boarding trials. The airline is confident that these Customer enhancements will meet expectations and not compromise the airline’s operational efficiency.”
Southwest’s Open Seating No Longer Preferred By Most Customers
Southwest stated, “The research is clear and indicates that 80% of Southwest Customers, and 86% of potential Customers, prefer an assigned seat. When a Customer elects to stop flying with Southwest and chooses a competitor, open seating is cited as the number one reason for the change. By moving to an assigned seating model, Southwest expects to broaden its appeal and attract more flying from its current and future Customers.”
Southwest will also add more legroom for certain seats
Per the press release, “In addition to assigning seats, Southwest will offer a premium, extended legroom portion of the cabin that research shows many Customers strongly prefer. While specific cabin layout details are still in design, Southwest expects roughly one-third of seats across the fleet to offer extended legroom, in line with that offered by industry peers on narrowbody aircraft.”
Red Eye Flights Coming Too
In addition to assigned seats and extended legroom, Southwest also announced a Red Eye or overnight flights. In the same press release, Southwest announced, “Southwest also announced it is adding 24-hour operation capabilities with the introduction of overnight, redeye flights. Booking on initial routes is available today through Southwest.com, 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.”
