US carrier 
Southwest Airlines
has revealed more details about its plan to upgrade the interiors of its planes as it moves to assigned seating. The airline is retrofitting its aircraft with new interiors that feature extra legroom and updated seats.
Coming to a plane near you
The airline revealed it would be updating the interiors of its aircraft last year. The move will help the airline increase revenue from the sales of premium seats as it switches to an assigned seating boarding process. Around one-third of the seats will feature more space.
Related
Huge Changes: Southwest Airlines Is Upgrading Everything From Seats To Uniforms
The airline will roll out new interiors, seats, and uniforms featuring elements of Southwest’s iconic branding.
Speaking at an Investor Call, Southwest Airlines Executive Vice President and Chief Transformation Officer Ryan Green confirmed the carrier continues to make progress and move forward on the assigned and premium seating product as scheduled. The airline now plans to begin selling seat assignments for new seats in the second half of this year and operate flights with assigned and premium seating in the first half of next year, with Green confirming:
“As we finalize our cabin layout and work towards FAA certification, we plan to begin retrofitting aircraft mid-year.”
The airline will start the retrofitting process with its larger Boeing 737-800
aircraft, with the smaller Boeing 737-700s to follow “later in the year.” Beginning the retrofit mid-year will allow Southwest Airlines to meet its planned operating date, minimize the amount of time it has a mixed fleet, and keep the Beoing 737-700 aircraft flying with their current seat count for more of this year. According to Green, the airline is fully prepared for the shift:
“We believe our tech ops facilities, employees, and vendors are well-equipped to update our entire fleet within our timeline”
“Technology Development is also going well. Our technology employees and vendors are hard at work coding the necessary technological changes, and will soon begin a rigorous testing phase before we begin selling assigned seats.”
Photo: Southwest Airlines | Tangerine
Airline officials separately confirmed that the cabin retrofit efforts associated with the premium seating initiative are expected to result in $150 million of incremental costs, primarily in the second half of the year.
What are they waiting on?
The cabin retrofits still have to be finalized, even though the 
RECARO
seats were revealed almost a year ago. Since the aircraft’s interior is changing significantly, Southwest Airlines had to submit the new cabin layouts to the Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA
) for weight and balance certification, which Green is “pretty confident” the airline will receive by the end of this quarter.
Related
Southwest Airlines Converts 1st Aircraft With New Interior
The airline expects the new cabin layout to be available on most aircraft by 2026.
Next, the airline will need a supplemental type certificate (STC), which is required to modify an aircraft from its original design. While the approval is dependent on the FAA’s timelines, Green expects to receive approval in the second quarter to enable the airline to begin modifications immediately following:
“We’ll get the retrofit started here mid-year, and then that’ll ramp through the remainder of the year.
“We’re confident that we’ve got the vendors in place and our employees are in place to get the fleet retrofit[ed] before we get to our operate date.”
Photo: Southwest Airlines | Tangerine
The design features deep blue tones, sky blue accents, and a nod to the Southwest Heart woven throughout the carpet and debossed on seat headrests, alongside a sunray pattern on the seats. Each seat will also feature a multi-adjustable headrest cushion, a backrest with lumbar support, and a new armrest design that maximizes seat width.
The airline further confirmed that it plans to slightly reduce its total aircraft count by the end of this year as it moves to an all-Boeing 737 MAX fleet by 2031. To accomplish this, the airline plans to retire 51 aircraft in 2025 and is contemplating the sale of ten additional Beoing 737-800NGs.
Related
Southwest Airlines Reports Record Revenue Of $27.6 Billion In 2024
Southwest Airlines’ chief executive outlined that 2025 will be a pivotal year for the airline.
To compensate for the retirements, airline officials confirmed Southwest needs to receive at least 38 new 737 MAX 8s from 
Boeing
by the end of the year.
