One of the marquee features of the airline was passengers having the ability to choose their own seats. However, that will no longer be the case.
According to the Dallas Morning News, Southwest conducted research and 8 million simulation-based boarding trials, and found that 80% of its customers and 86% of potential customers, prefer an assigned seat.
Bob Jordan, CEO of Southwest in a release, "Moving to assigned seating and offering premium legroom options will be a transformational change that cuts across almost all aspects of the company.
"Although our unique open seating model has been a part of Southwest Airlines since our inception, our thoughtful and extensive research makes it clear this is the right choice — at the right time — for our customers, our people, and our shareholders."
Southwest will also add premium seats, with extended legroom to the cabin, as well as the addition of red-eye flights.
According to Southwest, the first overnight flights will begin on Valentine's Day 2025, and the rest of the changes will be further addressed at its Investor Day in late September.
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