Southwest Airlines is abandoning its unique “open seat” system next year in favor of reserved-seat tickets and new premium upgrades as part of a “cabin monetization project” that the low-cost carrier hopes will help stabilize its shaky finances.
The company is expected to reveal more details about its plans, including price changes and the planned launch date in early 2025, at an investor briefing on September 26.
The company’s new vice president of commercial transformation, Ryan Green, will lead the project, according to the summary. Southwest announced Thursday.
In a memo on the strategic initiative, the airline acknowledged that it would be a complex undertaking, given that it has operated with its current centralized check-in and free seat selection system for 50 years.
“The introduction of reserved and premium seating is part of an ongoing, comprehensive upgrade to the customer experience that research shows our customers overwhelmingly prefer,” Southwest CEO Bob Jordan said in a statement.
“Today, with more passengers choosing Southwest than ever before and work underway to address the challenges we face, we’re excited about the future.”
Southwest said a survey it conducted about the seating changes found that 80 percent of existing Southwest customers and 86 percent of potential customers wanted assigned seats like those offered by most other airlines.
The move comes amid other operational changes planned by the company. Reinforce Its finances.
Air travel has reached new heights since the COVID-19 pandemic downturn, but that hasn’t translated into profits for airlines, especially Southwest Airlines, which has come under increased scrutiny and faced hefty fines for safety concerns and major delays.
“We are taking urgent but deliberate steps to mitigate near-term revenue challenges and execute longer-term transformation initiatives designed to drive significant top and bottom line growth,” Jordan said.
The new premium cabins include the option to pay extra for extra legroom.
Southwest Airlines plans to introduce overnight or “night” flights in certain areas on February 14, 2025, as well as 24-hour operating capabilities. Including Baltimore (BWI) Additional overnight service is expected to be rolled out later this year.
“The introduction of late-night flights and continued reductions in turn times through new technologies and procedures are expected to generate increasing revenue and cost savings that will enable Southwest to fund substantially all of its new capacity over the next three years without additional aircraft capital investments,” the company said.
