Southwest Airlines (WN, Dallas Love Field) will begin retrofitting the interiors of its entire fleet on May 1, installing premium seating and changing to an assigned seating boarding procedure.
In an interview with Aviation Week, Landon Nitschke, senior vice president of technical operations, says the airline must retrofit over 800 aircraft by December 31 to be ready to offer the extended legroom product. To complete this, it aims to convert between seven and ten aircraft per night in its various hangars across the United States, including Dallas, Houston Hobby, Phoenix Sky Harbor, Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson, Orlando International, and Denver International.
Southwest Airlines will also open a new line maintenance hangar at Baltimore International, which will be able to accommodate up to three B737s and have apron space for up to eight more.
This new feat is part of Southwest’s ongoing business turnaround which also includes red-eye flights, voluntary redundancies, baggage fees, assigned seating, and expanded airline partnerships following a turbulent 2024 in which the carrier reached a cooperation agreement with activist investor Elliott Investment Management.
The ch-aviation fleets module shows Southwest Airlines operates 815 aircraft: 355 B737-700s, 203 B737-800s, and 257 B737-8s.
