Starting in February 2025, Southwest Airlines will begin offering overnight flights for their customers.
Why is Southwest making such dramatic changes to its business model?
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After keeping it under wraps for months,
While the exact timeline for the implementation of the new assigned seating process hasn't been disclosed, Southwest has confirmed this development in a press release shared on Thursday, July 25th. Along with assigned seating, the airline will also be introducing premium seating options with extra legroom.
The premium seating options are a significant revenue source for Southwest's competitors, and critics have argued that the airline needed to evolve due to the softness in domestic air prices. The airline has stated that approximately a third of the seats on their planes will feature the premium, extra-legroom setup.
Moreover, Southwest acknowledged in the release that "80 percent of Southwest customers, and 86 percent of potential customers, prefer an assigned seat," and that "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."
In addition to the seating policy shift, Southwest also announced on Thursday that it'll be introducing red-eye flights for the first time, with the new service set to launch in February.
Overnight travel options are now available on a few new routes. You can book flights from Las Vegas to Baltimore and Orlando, Los Angeles to Baltimore and Nashville, and Phoenix to Baltimore. The airline mentioned they plan to add more of these overnight routes in the coming year.
This major update comes after the airline's Chief Commercial Officer, Ryan Green, confirmed a while back that overnight flights were part of their future plans.
As one of the airline's representatives, Jordan, explained back in March:
"We have the aircraft, and using them more efficiently throughout the day is a great way to make the most of our assets. So, you can expect to see more red-eye flights from us."
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