Southwest Airlines holds its second quarter earnings call today, in the face of major revenue disappointments and a campaign by an activist investor to oust current management and force the airline to shift its business model to become more like American Airlines, Delta, and United.
Before Elliott Capital’s near-$2 billion investment, Southwest was already talking up changes to offer more premium products that customers would pay more for. There’s been a trend towards premium, and also long haul international, both of which the airline has been unable to take advantage of. Their product and route network haven’t aligned with what customers have most wanted to buy.
They’re expected to offer extra legroom seats at the front of the cabin, in what’s being referred to as Love Cabin. These seats would be assigned. Southwest could offer blocked middle seats for sale in Love Cabin, along the lines of Frontier, where the airline sells a seat block to both the aisle and middle seat passenger as an option. And they’re preparing to increase fleet utilization – cheaper additional flying using current aircraft – by offering redeye flights for the first time. New union contracts now provide for redeye operations, and the airline no longer has to turn their systems off and on in a reset each night which required operations to halt.
We’ll have to wait for details on what kind of basic economy product they might offer as a replacement for their cheapest Wanna Get Away fare. Presumably these passengers would board last and have last choice of seats, and perhaps change restrictions as well. This would likely be a new ‘Group D’ boarding that permitted only a small personal item, and only one free checked bag.
Southwest has quietly loaded their first redeye flights into the system. Routes discovered, but not yet announced, so far include:
- Las Vegas – Baltimore, Orlando
- Phoenix – Baltimore
- Los Angeles – Baltimore, Nashville
Los Angeles – Baltimore at Southwest.com
We will certainly see Hawaii redeye flights. Currently Southwest can’t really sell most connections to the middle of the country and east coast without an overnight stop without flying redeyes.
The current expectation is that we’ll begin seeing extra legroom seats coming quickly – four rows at the front of cabins plus exit row seats available only for those with these seats pre-assigned. Planes could begin reconfiguration as soon as September, and would be rapidly cycled through the fleet over the course of just several months. While I imagine this could slip, there is talk of targeting February 1, 2025 for selling these assigned seats.
This would mean that Southwest partially abandons ‘open seating’ and also that those with preboarding would only be permitted to sit behind row four.
Southwest is also rumored to be eliminating seat saving. No more spreading out bags of donuts on seats so that one passenger can reserve seats for friends and family with lower boarding order, such as basic economy.
Woman saving an entire row of plane seats behind her with donut bags.
byu/Hog_Fan inmildlyinfuriating
If the airline is going to further monetize its boarding process, it makes no sense to allow one member of a large party to pull everyone else in basic economy forward.
I’m trying to be patient to see how this plays out, but my knee jerk reaction to this is not positive. I fly Southwest almost exclusively, and use it for regular business travel. The flexibility of seating, ticketing, and changing flights has made so much difference for me as a business traveler. I genuinely love open seating. I’ll be curious to see how these changes affect A-List members. If they become more like other legacy carriers, though, I don’t know how inclined I will be to stay so loyal to the airline….
I can’t see them doing partially assigned seating, and if they do, I can’t see it last. It’s way too much effort to police ~6 rows of economy and if it does get implemented, the FA union is going to throw a sh*tfit once they realize the amount of extra effort they have to expend during boarding and an increase in the number of fights they have to make.
Abandonment of open seating is long overdue. It may have been a good policy in the past when the flying public was more civilized. But now. between the rampant abuse of ADA by people claiming the need for wheelchairs ( but 90% of those same people not needing them to get off the plane) and people saving seats with carry on bags and handbags for other travelers that did not pay for early boarding that entire business model has run its course.
On my last two flights with WN, I encountered the Reserved Seating Syndrome.
Have also encountered a pair sitting next to the window and the aisle.
Made myself at home in the middle seat because it was on the front row.
Tired of the musically chair games and the Jesus Jetway crowd.
Assigned seating is sorely needed. Glade to see it arrive!!
If this is true, say goodbye to the “most legroom in economy” among US domestic carriers. Where do you think all that premium legroom will come from?
Preboarding “abuse” and problems with seatsaving exist in the minds of an entitled few who can’t fathom disabilities being invisible, or hate someone being ahead of them.in line.
The real winner for business travel: Zoom.
They could keep their current boarding process with just a couple of changes. Pre-borders sit in the rear of the aircraft and no seat saving allowed. Last time I flew a business select ticket I was A2. There were no aisles or window seats left in the first eight rows. That won’t do anything to help their revenue though. Which their revenue issue surprises me. Most of the time I search flights they are on par with the legacy airlines. I only fly them if they’re the only direct flight to my destination because I’m not a fan of the Hunger Games boarding process.
@Gary “sells a seat block to both the aisle and middle seat passenger” I assume it’s window not middle.
Anyway, I guess now I might consider WN when they offer a non-stop when others don’t or a better priced non-stop. Sadly, they are more often than not pricier than others in my market or they fly crazy early or crazy late. To one Florida city, I could get a WN non-stop, but only if I were willing to fly out at 6am or arrive at my destination at 9:30pm.
@Ben, I would imagine the typical flyer won’t hear the announcements about reserved seating and won’t see the signs I expect will be posted in the jetway. Still, AA, DL, UA, and others regularly sell F, Y+, and exit-row seating along with regular coach. I don’t see them having a problem (at least on my flights) with squatters. It will take time, and I’m sure we’ll hear on many cases of “hey that’s my seat!”
It would appear SWA is on a similar arc to the old PeopleExpress, albeit over a much longer arc. PEX was initially very popular, successful and some made a big profit on their stock. But just like People Express, SWA may find out that trying to be more like the traditional airlines to compete will cost them more than they gain. When they expanded to Hawaii they found out the limitations of their popularity and underperformed to put mildly.
After almost falling into the Pacific Ocean, Tampa Bay, LaGuardia Airport’s tower, buzzing a town over Oklahoma and unleashing racist flight attendants on legendary rapper Pepa (Salt & Pepa), changes are coming.
Southwest becoming the new Spirit/Frontier should be interesting. It’s all down hill from here.
My worry is that these changes will do to Southwest what changes to make the airline more like other airlines did to JetBlue.
I have been A-List for years. How things come out following these changes will determine whether I keep my loyalty.
Awesome. Now just add a bona fide domestic first class (yes, this will take years) and a paid lounge at every hub/focus city. With good service, WN will quickly grow their business traveler revenue rather dramatically.
hmm.. launching redeyes to BWI where Spirit already operates? I smell a merger.
Ending the Hunger Games seating still won’t make them more competitive with the full service airlines….. simple fact is there is limit to their business model and it appears they have found it.
I don’t see anything in the Southwest press release from this morning that indicates only part of the cabin will now have assigned seats; from the tone of that document it comes across as if assigned seating will be unilateral.
@Mike Hunt – this was written before Southwest’s announcement
Whether good or bad, SW had to go to assigned seating because of all the rude inconsiderate people.
No more “miracle flights”? 😉
Gary, if Southwest was calling it “Love Cabin” there would already be a trademark pending… there is not, nor is there one for “LUV Cabin”. You are a presumptuous drama queen who can’t help but spew misinformation.