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Southwest Airlines to Offer Assigned Seating, Extra Legroom
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Southwest Airlines to Offer Assigned Seating, Extra Legroom
Sep 26, 2024 11:41 AM

02:09 PM EDT, 09/26/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Southwest Airlines ( LUV ) unveiled new offerings that it hopes will better align with customer preferences, including assigned seating and seats with extra legroom, the company said Thursday at its Investor Day.

The airline said the offerings were a result of "extensive research with customers."

Lapsed customers cited the lack of assigned seating and the boarding process as the top reasons why they have chosen to fly with other airlines and not Southwest ( LUV ) in the last 24 months, according to the presentation. In addition, the airline said its most loyal customers and those flying longer flights have expressed a desire for premium seating features, like extra legroom.

The company also said it is actively pursuing chances to monetize the value of its Boeing 737 fleet.

"While our discussions with Boeing are ongoing to restructure our order book to align with our growth plans, we have a unique opportunity to capture value and our earnings on excess aircraft we do not need with our moderate growth plans," Chief Financial Officer Tammy Romo said, according to a transcript available on Capital IQ. "With that in mind, we are pursuing direct sales of [737-800]. We are also looking at sale leasebacks where we can be opportunistic."

Southwest ( LUV ) expects its strategic initiatives to be fully mature in 2027.

Price: 30.41, Change: +2.02, Percent Change: +7.12

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