Southwest Airlines (WN, Dallas Love Field) is in the first stages of developing a potential long-haul strategy which would include the company acquiring a second aircraft type, moving away from its decades-long tradition of deploying only Boeing B737s.
Speaking with reporters, chief executive Bob Jordan said, as quoted by Aviation Week, that the company was looking at its next strategy, “past things that we are doing today. It is all about meeting the needs of our customers. We know that we have customers that want things that we can’t provide, like a lounge, like true premium, like long-haul international.”
He acknowledged the company’s current fleet would not cope with any long-haul international plans but added that no decisions had been made at this point.
“You’ve got widebody jets that can handle that mission. You’ve got narrowbody jets that can handle that mission. And I’ll just tell you that everything is on the table,” he explained. Any major announcement in the company’s fleet would take in at least three to four years, mulled Jordan.
Since 2024, Southwest has been undergoing a major transformation to its business model well known in the market for decades. Over the last few months, it has introduced assigned seating, increased legroom, red-eye operations, sold off outside ventures such as a subsidiary focused on sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), and reduced its headcount. It has overhauled its whole strategy, pressured by activist investor Elliott Investment Management.
In June, Southwest Airlines told ch-aviation that the management was continually looking at “all kinds of things that even a few years ago no one ever would have considered possible for us.”
ch-aviation data shows Southwest’s fleet comprises 332 B737-700s, 277 B737-8s, and 203 B737-800s. It has orders for 286 B737-7s and 186 B737-8s.
