DALLAS — Southwest Airlines will move to assigned seating and also offer premium seating and redeye flights as part of a "strategic transformation," the airline announced Thursday.
Unassigned seating has long been a hallmark of the Dallas-based airline, but that model will change after the airline conducted consumer research and found that most customers preferred assigned seating, according to a press release from Southwest Airlines.
Southwest will also offer a premium area of the cabin with additional legroom, the company said. The company said one-third of the seats across Southwest's fleet will have extended legroom but did not offer a timeline for when the new seating policies will be implemented.
"We have been building purposefully to this change as part of a comprehensive upgrade to the Southwest experience as we focus on Customer expectations," Bob Jordan, president, CEO, & vice chairman of the board, said in a release. "It will unlock new sources of revenue consistent with our laser focus on delivering improved financial performance."
Southwest in its press release Thursday said the move to assigned seating was driven by customer feedback.
"The research is clear and indicates that 80% of Southwest Customers, and 86% of potential customers, prefer an assigned seat," the release said. "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."
Redeye, or overnight, flights will also be available and Southwest customers can begin booking those flights today, the company announced. The first redeye flights will land on Valentine's Day 2025 in five initial markets, Las Vegas to Baltimore and Orlando; Los Angeles to Baltimore and Nashville; and Phoenix to Baltimore.
The new flights are expected to boost revenue and reduce costs, the release states.
Southwest brought in a net income of $367 million in the second quarter, falling 46% from a year earlier. The company said it had a net income of 58 cents per share, according to the company's second-quarter financial report released Thursday.
The report exceeded analysts' expectations but "fell short of what we believe we are capable of delivering," Jordan said in the release.
To implement the changes, Ryan Green, previously executive vice president, & chief commercial officer, will become executive vice president of commercial transformation. He will lead the implementation of these and other commercial changes, the release states.