The primary Southwest Airways planes with extra-legroom seats are set to make their debut in service subsequent month. And — for now — they will be freed from cost for these few prospects fortunate sufficient to snag one.
Southwest expects to deploy its first newly retrofitted plane sporting the extra spacious rows Might 1, the Dallas-based service introduced.
It is a key milestone within the airline’s shift to assigned and extra-legroom seating, a daring transfer introduced final yr that, executives stated, was pushed by exhaustive buyer analysis.
Southwest’s new extra-legroom structure
As seen in a seat map revealed in current days, Southwest prospects will discover extra-legroom seats within the first 5 rows of its newly up to date Boeing 737-800 and 737 MAX 8 jets — as a result of be retrofitted first, protecting with plans the airline laid out final yr.
Three extra rows surrounding the exit doorways in the course of the plane will probably be configured with the additional house, too.
In all, Southwest hopes to wrap up all of its cabin reconfigurations between April 30 and the tip of this yr, with a view to meet its purpose of launching the sale of assigned and extra-legroom seats in the course of the early a part of 2026.
Technically, the airline does not plan to start out promoting tickets underneath its assigned seating mannequin till the third quarter of 2025, which runs from July by means of September, for flights departing early subsequent yr.
However, as TPG first reported final fall, Southwest prospects will not have to attend till then to start out seeing the extra spacious rows on sure Southwest flights. Reasonably, they will begin showing on planes months earlier than the airline’s open-seating setup ends — and that may start Might 1.
A ‘delicate launch’ of extra-legroom seats
Over the approaching months, crews on the airline’s upkeep bases in Denver, Phoenix, Houston and Atlanta will quietly return Southwest’s planes to service after putting in the extra spacious rows.
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Exacty how will prospects know if their airplane has the extra-legroom rows?
They in all probability will not, executives informed TPG earlier this yr. Consider it as a “delicate launch,” of types.
“I feel it’s going to be a pleasant shock when prospects stroll on,” now-departed Government Vice President Ryan Inexperienced informed me in January.
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Learn how to get an extra-legroom seat on Southwest
Till the airline formally makes the shift to open seating, prospects with A-group boarding will definitely have the very best shot at scoring an extra-legroom seat on flights providing the brand new structure.
Clients who’ve A-Listing elite standing, or who buy its EarlyBird or Upgraded Boarding merchandise, will even have a greater probability at scoring a kind of seats.
However with a whole lot of jets as a result of get refitted between now and the tip of the yr, your probabilities of being on a airplane with the brand new structure will steadily improve over the approaching months.
“An growing proportion as you go all year long,” Southwest Chief Working Officer Andrew Watterson informed me in January. “That’ll be a part of the expertise. You simply cannot rely on it [until next year] so we do not need to promote it till you may rely on it.”
Different modifications deliberate
As a part of the retrofit, upkeep groups will even set up in-seat energy shops and bigger overhead bins on plane that do not already sport these cabin options.
Customary seats in Southwest’s 737-800 and MAX 8 cabins will lose legroom to make manner for the extra-legroom seats. The seat pitch on these planes (the measurement from a hard and fast level on one seat to the identical level on the seat in entrance) will drop from 32 inches to 31.
After the height summer time journey season ends, the service will proceed with retrofits to its smaller 737-700 plane. Customary seats on these planes is not going to lose legroom.
Backside line
Southwest’s shift away from open seating is about to convey different modifications to the airline, too, together with tweaks to the advantages provided to A-Listing elite standing members and cobranded Speedy Rewards bank card holders.
Plus, the airline is getting ready to pivot on its longstanding, distinctive boarding course of.
The month of Might will even convey the beginning of checked baggage charges at an airline lengthy recognized for its beneficiant “baggage fly free” coverage.
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