Southwest Airlines will add first class. It’s inevitable. But they’re going to underperform the industry with premium products. Still, it’s the only path forward for them:
- Once you have basic economy and a fare structure aimed to get customers to spend more, you need a product ladder. Just offering extra legroom seats (without extra width) doesn’t cut it. They don’t even let you reserve a blocked middle seat in the booking path. Buy up to what?
- Spirit Airlines has ‘first class’ and Frontier Airlines is adding first class. JetBlue is adding first class. Southwest is becoming just like the rest of the industry with bag fees and basic economy, they can’t possibly position themselves as less premium than Spirit.
- They need premium to attract credit card spend, just like they need lounges (JetBlue’s are effectively paid for by their bank partner) and international partners – not just for connecting passengers, but for points redemption. United’s miles and American’s can take you to Europe and Australia. Why accumulate Southwest’s miles, besides Companion Pass?
Southwest’s CEO admits they’e considering it. They have to be more than considering, because it’s a huge hole in their revenue strategy without it.
However Southwest’s first class is going to lag the industry. While galleys were designed with the ability to add ovens later, they’d need to do that also for hot food service.
Southwest’s seats don’t have screens. They don’t have standard power ports. This is a bare bones product, and they can’t earn a revenue premium. But since they’re following a model of copying the rest of the industry, it makes no sense to only add the fees, but not give customers something to buy up to. So they have to add first class. They just aren’t well-suited for the offering.
CEO Bob Jordan has been talking up a first class for months. Enilria says the decision was already made but they ran into supply chain issues with the seats.
I’ve said for years that WN can’t get 800 shipsets worth of first class seats and that is why they will have to take it slow.
I also don’t think that not having ovens matters. There are plenty of cold meals can work well at least in the short term.
They do have to re-organize their galleys to accommodate more than a bunch of drink cans.
and they are putting in in-seat power and WiFi.
and, let’s be honest, even UA is copying what DL started in cabins over a decade ago. There is no reason why WN can’t get there in far less time than UA by moving in stages.
Southwest 1st class is whether you’d like to board before or after the Jetway Jesus crowd.
It will be interesting if SWA labels and reserves the overhead bins for its ‘BUS’ class customers; yes they actually assigned a bus fare code instead of F. You can’t make this stuff up…
Have been A-List Preferred for years.
Up to the beginning of 2025 I have saw value in WN product: lots of flights, low prices, high flexibility to move schedules.
Then it started being flipped upside down: less frequent flights, always the highest price, flexibility of an Aeroflot ticket.
This year my first 24 segments are 1 on NW and 23 with AK.
Maybe SW can acquire those temporary DL FC 321NEO seats if and when the lie-flat seats get their fire retardant coverings approved. 😉
@VIk: Similar here. Southwest removed confirmed same day change as an Elite benefit. Virtually all former elite benefits are now credit card holder benefits or fare class benefits. Add in funds expiration and higher fares, and very little remains except routes and schedule. Intra-CA flights have been reduced by 50% or more over the past several years.
Southwest will gain from higher fares only until customers and the competition respond.
Gave up on WN after all the changes. Using up my remaining miles. Their schedules were never the best but the bags/flexibility made up for it. No longer. All revenue flights are done elsewhere.. hoping to use the remaining credits Q1 so I can be done with them.
No screens? May be worth considering then. Even though I am not a Southwest fan, I book my children on their flights specifically so they aren’t exposed to the filth that other airlines expose us all to in the name of entertainment. Yes we can choose what we play, but we can’t choose what those around us are showing, and besides, it’s really distracting to have lots of screens around you all showing different content.
I also predict that their product will evolve and will, in time, challenge the other airlines to do better themselves if they do it properly.
Umm, ‘considering,’ doesn’t mean anything is happening. @Mike Hunt has long wished for it. @Tim Dunn predicted TATL on Southwest, which is silly. Taking a 737 Max (even with recliner) across the Atlantic doesn’t sound ‘fun’ to me. jetBlue has done far better with actual lie-flat in Mint; that should be the goal.
Once again. I would much rather free on board high speed internet rather than a seat back video monitor that might not work, scratched up by some kid who’s parent didn’t parent, and a screen that is faded from exposure to sun and other elements. I much prefer my own device with blue tooth connectivity for my headphones.