Southwest Airlines says enough is enough, and after seeing the airline industry catch far too much flack over poor customer service, it’s making several new initiatives designed to elevate the customer experience.
It plans to assign seats, and introduce – get this -- redeye flights as part of its ongoing commitment to product evolution.
The airline says that while you might not think they pay attention to every little thing travelers say about them, they do. And here’s what they saw and what they’re going to start doing as early as this fall:
Assigned and Premium Seating
Open seating has been a hallmark of Southwest for a long time, but unfortunately, some travelers have ruined the experience for the rest of us. Recently, one family put grandma in a wheelchair so she – and the entire family – could board first and have their choice of seats. No mas. In doing its homework, Southwest noted that customer preferences have evolved with more people taking longer flights where a seat assignment is preferred.
Open-seating has cost the airline dearly. It said that when a customer elects to stop flying with Southwest and chooses a competitor, open seating is cited as the number one reason for the change. It feels that assigned seating will broaden its appeal and encourage more current and future customers to fly Southwest.
And, like other airlines, there will be an option to upgrade to extended legroom seating, too. It’s too early to tell how many of those seats will be available per plane because cabin layout details are still in design, but Southwest expects roughly one-third of seats across the fleet to offer extended legroom.
Redeye flights for sale
Redeye flights are a good thing for the airlines that have them – increased aircraft utilization and lower operating costs. They’re good for travelers, too, because they are usually cheaper, a fact not lost on Southwest.
With that knowledge well in hand, the airline is adding 24-hour operation capabilities with the introduction of overnight flights beginning Valentine's Day 2025 in five initial nonstop markets: Las Vegas to Baltimore and Orlando; Los Angeles to Baltimore and Nashville; and Phoenix to Baltimore.
After those are off the ground and all the kinks worked out, Southwest plans to phase in additional redeye flying as part of its multi-year transformation to a 24-hour operation.
Southwest said that redeye flying, coupled with continued reductions in turn-time through new technologies and procedures, is a win-win. The traveler gets a good deal and redeye flights are expected to provide increased revenue and cost savings. “enabling Southwest to fund nearly all new capacity over the next three years without incremental aircraft capital deployment.”
Will this mean that other airlines are going to start paying more attention to what consumers give a darn about? Let's hope so.