Southwest Will Finally Have Assigned Seats and Introduce Red-Eye Flights

Updated: July 25, 2024, 10:13am CDT

Edited by:

Premium Seating and Assigned Seats
The Launch of Red-Eye Flights
Final Thoughts

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Big news for Southwest Airlines passengers: you will soon be able to select your seat assignment in advance!

The airline has maintained an open seating policy since its inception, so this is a massive shift from a tradition that goes back more than 50 years.

The move is an attempt to increase customer satisfaction as well as the financial performance of the company.

Let’s take a look at all of the details.

Premium Seating and Assigned Seats

Southwest Airlines announced new initiatives to improve the customer experience and improve financial performance, including plans to offer assigned seating, premium seating, a new boarding model, and even red-eye flights.

Currently, Southwest has an open-seating policy. Passengers must check in exactly 24 hours before their flight if they want any chance of scoring an early boarding group.

Girl flying Southwest — You need an early boarding group to sit like this…for a few minutes. Image Credit: Chris Hassan

This is not a popular process amongst passengers, and Southwest has taken notice, stating that 80% of Southwest customers and 86% of potential customers prefer an assigned seat.

In addition to assigning seats, Southwest will also introduce premium, extended-legroom seats that will account for roughly 33% of seats across its fleet.

“Moving to assigned seating and offering premium legroom options will be a transformational change that cuts across almost all aspects of the company,” said Bob Jordan, President & CEO of Southwest Airlines. “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.”

These changes are just some (albeit the biggest) of the many that the airline has introduced lately, including in-seat power, larger overhead bins, and faster Wi-Fi.

Bottom Line:

Southwest passengers will soon be able to select their seats in advance and even have the opportunity to upgrade to a premium economy seat…likely for a fee!

The Launch of Red-Eye Flights

For the first time ever, Southwest will soon have 24-hour operation capabilities and will introduce red-eye, overnight flights starting in 2025.

The airline will start with 5 nonstop markets, including:

Las Vegas (LAS) to Baltimore (BWI)
Las Vegas (LAS) to Orlando (MCO)
Los Angeles (LAX) to Baltimore (BWI)
Los Angeles (LAX) to Nashville (BNA)
Phoenix (PHX) to Baltimore (BWI)

Southwest is optimistic that the increased aircraft efficiency from the red-eye flights will generate sufficient revenue to “fund nearly all new capacity over the next three years without incremental aircraft capital deployment.”

Final Thoughts

Southwest has made the decision to change its long-standing open-seating policy after more than 50 years. Passengers will now have the option to select their seats in advance. Say goodbye to the mad dash 24 hours before your flight to try and secure an early boarding group.

Although this will likely come with a fee, many passengers will likely be happy to pay for their seat in exchange for less stress on a travel day.

Plus, with the news of premium economy and red-eye flights, Southwest is poised to start improving its financial situation and guest experience without the need for new aircraft.