Customer Service
Southwest updates seating policy to assigned seats
July 25, 2024
Southwest Airlines is changing its passenger seating policy to assigned seats after 50 years of providing an open seating approach in a quest to grab more customers.
The new policy to assigned seating will let the airline charge for what it terms "premium" seats, according to a press release
The airline has not set a specific date for the seating change but stated that research indicated 80% of customers and 86% of potential customers prefer assigned seats. The data also revealed that the top reason cited by unhappy passengers has been its open seating policy.
The policy change comes two years after the airline suffered a severe operations meltdown that led to the cancellation of 17,000 flights during the holiday travel period.
In addition to assigning seats, Southwest will offer a premium, extended legroom portion of the cabin. 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.
"Moving to assigned seating and offering premium legroom options will be a transformational change that cuts across almost all aspects of the company," Bob Jordan, president, CEO and vice chairman of the board, said in the release. "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."
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