"Everything is on schedule," CEO Bob Jordan mentioned on Thursday.
Farewell open seating? What's new for Southwest flyers in 2025/2026?
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He mentioned at a Goldman Sachs investor conference that the process of "selling the new products" is planned for the second half of 2025, and the actual "operating the new products" on flights will begin in the first half of 2026, and that all of this is proceeding as scheduled.
These new seats with more legroom are part of a larger set of changes Southwest is making to what they offer. This includes moving away from their long-standing policy of open seating, where people choose their own seats when they board, a system they've credited for much of their success over the past 50 years. Other changes in the works are assigned seating, flights that depart late at night and arrive early, and partnerships with international airlines, the first of which will be with Icelandair.
These changes come after an investment firm that buys large amounts of stock in companies, Elliott Management, put pressure on Southwest to improve its financial results. The airline expects that these new offerings and flights will bring in billions of dollars in new revenue in the coming years.
Jordan stated that Southwest is investing "hundreds of millions" of dollars in these new, more spacious premium seats and the other planned changes. This work involves updating more than 60 of Southwest's computer systems so they can sell these new products, as well as getting the new seats approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
These changes do come with some risk. The airline has built its reputation on its unique way of doing things and what it offers customers, and there's a chance they could upset some of their current customers as their offerings start to look more like what other major airlines in the United States provide.
Jordan said, "It's not going to change who we are or the values that we stand for." He added, "It changes the product that we offer our customers that they want significantly."
Southwest is not the only airline making changes to what they offer. Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways, and Spirit Airlines are all making similar moves because there's more demand from customers for more premium travel options. Next year, the budget airline Frontier is planning to introduce new first-class seats, and JetBlue will open its first airport lounges. Spirit Airlines is planning more changes to what they offer as part of its process of reorganizing its finances after bankruptcy.
Regarding Southwest, travelers can anticipate seeing these new seats – and enjoying the extra legroom without paying extra – on flights sometime in the early part of 2025. The airline plans to start flying with the upgraded product before they actually begin selling tickets for those specific seats, so that a significant number of their planes will already have them installed.
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