Southwest's new cabin design has more legroom-for some people

"Starting in January 2026, Southwest will offer a new, pricier seating option that comes with extended leg room (ELR). These ELR seats are expected to take up one-third of each aircraft's total seating-and in order to implement the new tiered assigned seating process, the airline is replacing seating across its fleet. In the coming months, every new aircraft that Southwest receives from Boeing will be fitted with the fully updated cabin, while older planes will be retrofitted with new seats."

""After the pandemic, we took a look at the data, and there is a more affluent audience that is growing across the category," Melle says. "We wanted to be able to make sure we offered our core customers and an affluent customer more choices than ever before, and that includes an elevated experience within our cabin.""

Southwest Airlines unveiled a redesigned cabin featuring slimmer seats, refreshed amenities, and a prominent blue color scheme, with six updated aircraft already in service. The redesign is part of a broader transformational plan that has removed longstanding brand features and introduced tiered, paid options to boost ancillary revenue. Beginning January 2026, a pricier extended leg room (ELR) option will occupy roughly one-third of each plane, and the airline is replacing seating across its fleet to enable assigned, tiered seating. The design aims to offer an elevated experience for a growing affluent segment while retaining choices for core customers.

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