Southwest Airlines Will Get Assigned Seating in 2025

Southwest Airlines volition commencement selling assigned seats connected each its planes adjacent twelvemonth according to an announcement from the institution Thursday. The determination is simply a extremist alteration for an hose that has stood retired for having an unfastened seating exemplary during its 53 years successful business.

“After listening cautiously to Customers and conducting extended research, Southwest decided it volition delegate seats and connection premium seating options connected each flights,” Southwest said successful a connection posted online.

The Dallas-based bearer wrote that “preferences person evolved” and that much customers person been wanting to get assigned seats for longer fights. The institution says 80% of Southwest customers and 86% of imaginable customers privation assigned seating. Southwest besides said that erstwhile customers determine not to alert the hose anymore the fig 1 crushed cited is that the hose doesn’t person assigned seating.

Southwest besides announced Thursday that it was going to connection premium seats which person much legroom, different enactment that was not disposable connected the airlines previously. The institution notes that its probe shows passengers truly similar having the enactment to upgrade, though that volition necessitate changes to the existing fleet of planes.

“While circumstantial compartment layout details are inactive successful design, Southwest expects astir one-third of seats crossed the fleet to connection extended legroom, successful enactment with that offered by manufacture peers connected narrowbody aircraft,” the hose wrote Thursday.

The institution seemed excited astir the changes, though determination were immoderate folks online who were disappointed that Southwest was going to power to assigned seats.

“As a loyal Southwest customer, I hatred this. the full crushed I alert southwest is bc it’s inexpensive & I tin prime my seat!!! If you don’t similar it, alert connected a antithetic airline,” 1 X idiosyncratic wrote connected Thursday.

Another X idiosyncratic said the alteration was driven by greed.

“Southwest Airlines has ended the ‘open seating’ policy,” an upset X idiosyncratic tweeted Thursday. “They volition present connection seats for a fees. You volition person to wage for bully seats. This is extremity of an era. A beauteous hose destroyed by greed.”

But the hose intelligibly thinks this is each a bully thought borne retired by research.

“Moving to assigned seating and offering premium legroom options volition beryllium a transformational alteration that cuts crossed astir each aspects of the Company,” Bob Jordan, the president and CEO of Southwest, said successful a statement.

“Although our unsocial unfastened seating exemplary has been a portion of Southwest Airlines since our inception, our thoughtful and extended probe makes it wide this is the close choice— astatine the close time—for our Customers, our People, and our Shareholders. We are excited to incorporated Customer and Employee feedback to plan a unsocial acquisition that lone Southwest tin deliver.”