Southwest Airways reveals new seats, cabin designs

Southwest Airways is getting a face-lift.

The Dallas-based service revealed particulars of a brand new onboard product Friday, that includes a refreshed look and a brand new seat design.

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The brand new cabins will probably be on board newly delivered jets beginning in early 2025, the airline stated. They have been created in collaboration with Tangerine, a London-based design agency that is labored on quite a few airline merchandise earlier than — like Japan Airways’ new A350 interiors. The cabins are primarily based on what Southwest described as “in depth analysis” involving prospects and workers and their “perceptions of shade, consolation, and their aspirations for the general onboard expertise.”

The brand new seats have been designed by Recaro and have just a few helpful options, together with an adjustable headrest and a private gadget holder on seatbacks. General, the cabin includes a deep blue hue with lighter blue accents. It has nods to the airline’s coronary heart emblem all through, together with woven into the carpet and on headrests.

Present plane won’t be retrofitted with the brand new interiors, Southwest stated. Nevertheless, the entire airline’s Boeing 737-800s and 737 MAX 8 jets are within the means of being reconfigured with an up to date design that features charging ports for private units and bigger overhead bins.

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“Our redesigned cabin inside considerably enhances our inflight Buyer expertise and can complement the wonderful service that our Crews present,” Southwest Chief Buyer Officer and Senior Vice President Tony Roach stated in an announcement.

Southwest informed TPG that plane with the brand new interiors would characteristic the identical format as present plane. Recaro gives a number of light-weight but snug financial system seats which have confirmed well-liked with low-cost carriers for his or her slim measurement, permitting extra seats to suit on a given plane. In some instances, these slim seats save a lot area that an additional row or extra could be match into present planes.

Most of Southwest’s fleet will characteristic both the model new cabin, or the retrofit inside throughout the subsequent few years, though the airline didn’t specify an actual timeline for the refurbishment of present planes.

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