Southwest Airlines to start aircraft cabin retrofits with new seating options

In addition to the cabin retrofits, Southwest is opening a new line maintenance hangar in May at the Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. The hangar will have the capacity for three Boeing 737s and apron space for up to eight aircraft. Nitschke remarked on the facility, saying, “Baltimore is less about scheduled C checks or scheduled overnight maintenance and more about a line maintenance hangar or a hangar for aircraft to remain overnight just to get them out of the weather."

Southwest Airlines anticipates having its first retrofitted aircraft ready by May 8 and plans to introduce assigned seating by the third quarter, with inaugural flights set for the first quarter of 2026. Under the new model, one-third of the airline's seats will feature extra legroom. The seats, supplied by RECARO, will offer up to five extra inches, while the rest of the seating remains unchanged.

Southwest, known for its open seating model for over five decades, is shifting its approach due to changing traveler preferences. CEO Bob Jordan commented, “Moving to assigned seating and offering premium legroom options will be a transformational change that cuts across almost all aspects of the company."

The company states the changes are in response to 80% of current customers and 86% of potential customers preferring assigned seating over the open seating model. The fleet consists of 814 aircraft, including a mix of B737-700s, B737-800s, and B737 MAX 8s, with substantial future orders for the latter two models.