Southwest To Fly 24 Hours, Remove Open Seating & Add Premium Seats

Southwest is entering a new era and has announced significant changes to how it intends to operate long into the future.

As part of the changes and after listening to customers, Southwest says it’ll move towards assigned seating and offer premium seating options across every flight it operates.

This represents a step away from what Southwest has known for more than 50 years, an open seating model that has been a key part of its identity.

However, Southwest says much has evolved since it first launched with an open seating model, and as customers begin taking longer flights, there’s an appetite for seat assignment.

After thorough research led by testing, Southwest remains confident that this enhancement will meet expectations but, more importantly, not compromise the airline’s operational efficiency.

As part of the research, 86% of future and 80% of existing customers for the airline reported a preference for assigned seating over the open seat policy.

In fact, Southwest goes as far as stating that one of the core reasons customers look towards competitors to book instead of them is the open seat policy. Southwest wants to ensure it remains attractive in a highly competitive market in the future.

Southwest will also offer premium seats with extended legroom in a portion of the cabin. After a thorough review, the major U.S. carrier will roll out this change as another of many to the inflight experience.

The specific configuration that’ll involve the added legroom has yet to be determined, with this in the design phase and to be revealed at a later date. However, the airline did reveal it expects at least one-third of the seats across the fleet to have extended legroom, and this will align with what competitors are set to offer.

However, one of the largest changes comes in the form of redye flights now on sale. Southwest will move towards a 24-hour operation, which is aimed at enhancing its overall utilisation of assets and maximise its capabilities.

These redeye flights will commence on Valentine’s Day in 2025, with five nonstop markets selected initially. Southwest says these will be between the following: Las Vegas to Baltimore and Orlando, Los Angeles to Baltimore and Nashville, and Phoenix to Baltimore.