A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 aircraft lands at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, on May 7, 2023.
Nicolas Economo | Nurfoto | getty images
Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan told CNBC on Thursday that the company is considering a change to its single-class, open-seating cabin to boost revenue, a change that would be the biggest in the airline’s history.
“We’re looking at new initiatives, like changing how we board and board our aircraft,” Jordan said in an interview with the carrier. Disappointing first quarter report.
All of South-Westboeing The 737 fleet has an economy class cabin and no assigned seating, although it does offer early boarding for a fee so customers can pick their preferred seats. The airline has focused on keeping its product simple and user-friendly over the years, aiming to keep its costs and complexity to a minimum.
Meanwhile, rivals including delta And United Claims higher revenue growth for business class and premium seating like Strong Upsell Rates,
Analysts have repeatedly asked Southwest about opportunities for premium seating or additional fees. (The airline does not charge passengers for their first two checked bags.)
Most US airlines charge passengers to pre-select many of their seats, even those that do not come with extra legroom. Eight US carriers – alaska, Allegiant, Americandelta, marginal, jetblue, Soul And United could together earn $4.2 billion from seating fees across its domestic network in 2022, according to Jay Sorensen, airline assistant revenue expert at IdeaWorksCompany.
Jordan said no decisions have been made on what kind of changes Southwest will ultimately make, but he said the studies have yielded “interesting” results.
“Customer preferences change over time,” Jordan said.
While details were scarce during Southwest’s earnings call, when asked if Southwest would consider a separate cabin on its planes, Ryan Green, the carrier’s chief commercial officer, said: “Curtains and things like that are a little bit different from Southwest Airlines. Are.”
Green said the carrier is not considering charging for checked bags because “people choose Southwest Airlines because we don’t have a bag fee.”
– CNBC Phil LeBeau Contributed to this report.
