Southwest plans to start assigning seats, breaking 50-year tradition

The hose is said it volition connection redeye flights for the archetypal time.

Southwest Airlines plans to driblet its contented of much than 50 years and commencement assigning seats and selling premium seating for customers who privation much legroom.

The hose said Thursday that it has been studying seating options and is making the changes due to the fact that rider preferences person shifted. The moves could besides make gross and boost fiscal performance.

Southwest made the announcement connected the aforesaid time that some it and American Airlines reported a steep driblet successful second-quarter nett contempt higher revenue.

Airlines are struggling with higher costs and reduced pricing power, particularly connected flights wrong the United States, arsenic the manufacture adds flights faster than the maturation successful question demand.

Southwest, based successful Dallas, said its second-quarter nett fell 46% from a twelvemonth earlier, to $367 million, arsenic higher costs for labor, substance and different expenses outstripped an summation successful revenue. The results met Wall Street expectations.

American Airlines besides reported a 46% driblet successful profit, to $717 million, and said it would interruption adjacent successful the 3rd 4th - good beneath Wall Street expectations for the July-through-September period.

American "did not execute to our archetypal expectations" due to the fact that of a since-abandoned income strategy and an oversupply of home flights, CEO Robert Isom said. He said the hose was responding with a strategy that boosts profits and "makes it casual for customers to bash concern with American."

Southwest has utilized an open-seating exemplary since its founding, with passengers lining up to board, past choosing their ain spot erstwhile they are connected the airplane. But, the hose said, preferences person "evolved" - arsenic much travelers instrumentality longer flights, they privation an assigned seat.

The hose besides said it volition connection redeye flights for the archetypal time.

Southwest said that its archetypal overnight, redeye flights volition onshore connected Feb. 14, 2025 successful nonstop markets that see Las Vegas to Baltimore and Orlando; Los Angeles to Baltimore and Nashville; and Phoenix to Baltimore. It plans to signifier successful further redeye flights implicit time.

The alteration successful seating argumentation comes arsenic Southwest is nether unit from Elliott Investment Management. The hedge money argues that the hose lags rivals successful fiscal show and has failed to alteration with the times. It wants to regenerate CEO Robert Jordan and Chairman Gary Kelly.

Shares of each large airlines dipped earlier the opening doorbell Thursday. Southwest Airlines Co. fell 6% and American Airlines Group Inc. fell 7%. Delta, JetBlue and United slipped much than 1%.