A Southwest industrial airliner takes off from Las Vegas on Feb. 8, 2024.
Mike Blake | Reuters
Southwest Airlines is ending open seating and can offer extra legroom seats on its airplanes as mounting pressure on the carrier to extend revenue prompts the largest changes to its business model in its 53 years of flying.
Southwest plans to begin selling the primary flights that can offer extra legroom in 2025. The airline also plans to begin overnight flights.
Southwest executives have said for years that they were studying such changes and hinted in April that it was seriously considering assigning seats and offering pricier seats with more legroom. The airline is under much more pressure now to segment its product like other airlines after activist investor Elliott Investment Management disclosed in June a virtually $2 billion stake within the airline and called for brand spanking new leadership because the airline underperformed competitors.
“We’ll adapt as our customers’ needs adapt,” Southwest CEO Bob Jordan said at an industry event last month.
The Dallas-based airline had prided itself and raked in regular profits for many of its greater than five many years of flying on its easy business model. Jordan said last month that not assigning seats was easier to supply when planes weren’t so full.
Analysts criticized Southwest for moving too slowly. Rival carriers offer a bunch of options to upsell customers like extra legroom seats, premium economy or business class. Other airlines, nevertheless, like Delta, United and American, 4 years ago took a cue from Southwest and ended flight-change fees for many tickets.
Southwest will provide more details in regards to the upcoming changes at an investor day at the tip of September.
That is breaking news. Check back for updates.
