Southwest Airlines defines a date, plan for the end of open seats

Southwest Airlines Passengers will fly in seats assigned for the first time on January 27, the carrier told CNBC. Customers can start buying tickets with seats allocated on July 29.

The move ends more than half a century of seats open to the airline, a policy that distinguished it from competitors for decades – as well as two free checkered bags. The two things are evolving while Southwest leaders are looking for new sources of income to follow the more profitable rivals.

Southwest said in March that its multitude of initiatives would add $ 800 million to profits before interest and taxes this year and $ 1.7 billion in 2026.

The airline announced for the first time that it would end its seats open a year ago, but it had not yet set a date.

The changes are part of the massive overhang of Southwest of its commercial model. The carrier in March also said that he would start to charge many customers to check the bags and announce new types of prices this spring. High -level customers are exempt from many new restrictions and fresh.

Southwest has used computer models and live tests to ensure that new policies would not slow down and quickly bring the planes into the air of money.

“We wanted to make sure that, as we designed a boarding construction which has well combined with attributed seats, that we optimize for efficiency, but also the second priority: balance this and ensure that we take care of our most faithful customers, so that Tier members, card holders and customers who buy our most high -end products,” Southwest Southwest,

On January 27, the characteristics of the Southwest policy at the opening of Southwest – establishing an alarm to secure a place in the boarding line, the ABC groups, the major stands marking the boarding order and the on -board rush for a preferred seat – will have disappeared.

Everything will be replaced by eight boarding groups, depending on the selection of seats, status and other factors. The most loyal and most most launched expenditure will be first, but the location of the seat will determine the boarding position. Here is the order:

• The first two groups will include the best levels of frequent elite leaflets and those with ticket classes.
• The groups of three to eight will be intended for “choice” and “basic” tickets depending on their seat location.
• Credit card holders and members of the Rapid Rewards Crédit Card will have the late group 5 of the group 5.

There will be two queues.

The airline has not disclosed the prices of the assignments of seats as additional costs, which, on rival airlines, can vary depending on the route and demand. Access to certain seats will depend on the type of price, and the Southwest will sell standard seats, favorite seats and extra-light seats.

Southwest was busy reconfiguring his Boeing Planes to include extra-basal seats. About 200 planes are finished, around 25% of the fleet, said a spokesperson. Although these seats are not yet on sale, the airline has sold a boarding school prior to customers before their flight, which would increase their chances of obtaining seats at the additional platform.

Southwest customers have shown that sitting together is a priority, said Shafer Modi at CNBC, while recognizing that it will be different with the new boarding process.

“I think that if families want this feeling of control, they have the optionality to choose their seats … Our existing products that we sell,” she said. “We will try to do our best to make sure that families are seated together, no matter how they buy a ticket.”