Southwest Airlines Announces Changes To Seating Policy, Adds Overnight Flights

Southwest Airlines announced on Thursday the company will soon do away with the existing first-come-first-serve seating policy, opting to transition to assigned seating similar to other airlines.

In addition to changes to aircraft onboarding, the airline also said they will offer premium seating options, and introduce redeye, or overnight, flights.

According to a press release from the airline, Southwest said during its quarterly financial results in April, the airline shared it was studying product preferences and expectations, including onboard seating. As a result of those studies, the company said these new amenities are expected to "produce additional revenue and strengthen financial performance."

"Moving to assigned seating and offering premium legroom options will be a transformational change that cuts across almost all aspects of the company," Southwest Airlines president, CEO and vice chairman of the board Bob Jordan said. "Although our unique open seating model has been a part of Southwest Airlines since our inception, our thoughtful and extensive research makes it clear this is the right choice—at the right time—for our customers, our people, and our shareholders."

In addition to assigning seats, the airlines new premium seating will offer extended legroom, and while cabin layout details are still in design, Southwest said it expects roughly one-third of seats across the fleet to offer extended legroom.

As for new overnight flight plans, Southwest said the first overnight flights will land on Feb. 14, 2025, in five initial nonstop markets: Las Vegas to Baltimore and Orlando; Los Angeles to Baltimore and Nashville; and Phoenix to Baltimore.

Southwest said it has plans to phase in additional redeye flying in the carrier's coming schedules as part of its multi-year transformation to a 24-hour operation.

"We are excited to incorporate customer and employee feedback to design a unique experience that only Southwest can deliver," Jordan said. "We have been building purposefully to this change as part of a comprehensive upgrade to the Southwest experience as we focus on customer expectations – and it will unlock new sources of revenue consistent with our laser focus on delivering improved financial performance."

Southwest said additional details of the airline's plans will be provided during its "Investor Day" in September of this year.