It’s a rare event when airlines give something away for free. I mean, years ago it was relatively easy to get a few free things – decks of playing cards, crayons and coloring books for little ones. Heck, way back when, full meals were complimentary for all passengers, not just the beautiful people in first and business class. But nowadays, anything that might be considered extra, or even just “desirable” has been given a monetary worth to it. When there’s an opportunity to get something “better,” for free, people pay attention.
You’ve probably read that Southwest Airlines has just started retrofitting their planes’ cabins. Their goal is to have 3 groups of seats:
- Standard Seat – standard legroom seats located in the back of the cabin
- Preferred Seat – standard legroom seats near the front of the cabin, as well as exit rows
- Extra Legroom Seat – a roomier experience with more legroom to stretch out, at the front of the cabin, as well as near the exit rows, with up to 5 additional inches of extra legroom compared to Standard seats
Southwest has said that their, “Technical Operations Teams at maintenance bases in Denver, Phoenix, Houston, and Atlanta will complete the work, with the first retrofit aircraft planned to enter service May 1. These retrofits will occur alongside other cabin upgrades, such as the installation of in-seat power and larger overhead bins and will run alongside regular maintenance to uphold the Safety and quality of the Southwest fleet.”
May 1 — that’s this Thursday.
Anyway, they say they’re going to do the retrofits on their -800 and MAX 8 aircraft first. That’s the mainstay of their flights to/from Hawaii, along with some other routes. (After the summer, the retrofit process will begin on their 737-700 aircraft)
The thing is, Southwest isn’t going to start selling assigned seats until next year. Which means that, for now, those premium seats with extra legroom will be available, for free, to whoever’s lucky enough to claim them.
How to get a premium seat
Of course, you probably won’t know if “your” plane has been retrofitted or not until you get on the plane (although I’m sure there will be some smarty smarts on FlyerTalk who will list the numbers of each plane that’s been retrofitted). BUT, if it is, when you get on the plane, look for the dark blue seats with the light blue accents closer to the headrest. They’ll be in the first 5 rows of the plane, as well as surrounding the exit rows.
How to better your chances
Because Southwest will still use the “first come first served” system of seating until next year, passengers who board first – typically those with A-list status, or who buy EarlyBird Check-In, or who purchase Upgraded Boarding, have the best odds of getting the new seats.
The bad part of all of this
For those lucky 46 people who get one of these new seats with more leg room, congratulations! And for everyone else, welp, their having more legroom means that everyone else has…less. Preferred and Standard seats are going from 32″ of pitch to 31″. So expect to be more cramped than you used to be on a typical Southwest flight. Whomp whomp.
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