News/Commentary

‘I can’t believe they’re proud of this’: Southwest Airlines concerns flyers with aircraft ‘redesign’ plans

February 8, 2024 | | Print Article

Flyers are upset over a new Southwest Airlines cabin design that critics say means thinner, less comfortable seats.

Announced last week, the new design affects the Boeing 737 MAX 8 and Boeing 800.

“Southwest Airlines Co. is onboarding a new look and feel with plans for redesigned aircraft cabin conveniences and interiors that are distinctly Southwest® and will feature new aircraft seats from RECARO,” a press release from the airline reads.

Judging by the press release, the airline is extremely proud of and happy with the new seats.

“As part of this refresh, Customer research and product testing guided Southwest to select the global supplier of premium aircraft seats, RECARO, to provide comfortable seating that complements the calm blue palette planned for the refreshed cabins,” it reads. “The Southwest Heart will be threaded throughout the interior with the recognizable symbol debossed on seat headrests, alongside a sunray pattern on the seats.”

“The new RECARO seats include a multi-adjustable headrest cushion for enhanced head and neck support, an intuitively designed seat for ultimate comfort while maximizing seat width and overall support. The upgrades continue as each seat also will include a personal electronic device holder for Customers to enjoy free1 Inflight Entertainment on their devices more easily,” it continues.

@southwestairNew fit check! Introducing our updated cabin design and new seats! You can catch this interior on new aircraft deliveries beginning next year. Not to mention our ongoing rollout of adding bigger overhead bins and in-seat power ports to our current planes!♬ Originalton – CENKGO

But according to critics, the airline is more full of it than a porta potty, especially in light of current trends.

“[T]here’s an ongoing trend of introducing thinner seats to maximize cabin space and squeeze more paying passengers onboard,” according to Jalopnik.

Jalopnik further claims that the seats “are designed to take up as little space as possible,” as evidenced by the fact that the “inflight entertainment system has been ripped out of the back” and replaced with a lame “personal device holder.”

“The holder is just a higher tray to put a smartphone or tablet,” the outlet notes.

Nice …

As noted earlier, critics are not pleased.

Look:

All this comes a few months after the latest Southwest Airlines controversy. In December, the airline announced a new “customer of size” policy saying that morbidly obese customers who “encroach” past the armrest can get an extra seat at no additional cost.

The policy decision came about as a result of a morbidly obese “travel influencer,” Jae’lynn Chaney, starting a Change.org petition months earlier calling for airlines to change their “discriminatory” seating policies for fat people.

“People with smaller bodies get to pay one fare to get to their destination,” she told CNN Travel at the time. “We have to pay two fares, even though we’re getting the same experience. If anything, our experiences are a little bit more challenging.”

Vivek Saxena
Latest posts by Vivek Saxena (see all)

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.

Latest Articles