Southwest CEO says airline mulling changes to its open seating policy

Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan said Thursday that the carrier is considering changing the boarding and seating processes on its planes in order to improve its financial position.

“We’re looking into new initiatives, things like the way we seat and board our aircraft,” Jordan said in an interview with CNBC on Thursday after the company reported a net loss in the prior quarter.

Southwest became known for having a single economy class cabin with open seating assignments. Passengers will be assigned a boarding group but once they are onboard, they can choose any available seat. Customers can pay extra to board early to get their preferred seat.

In the company’s latest earnings report, Jordan warned that the carrier is contending with financial fallout from Boeing delays and announced it’s pulling out of multiple underperforming airports.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES EXITS MULTIPLE AIRPORTS AS BOEING TROUBLES WEIGH

Southwest reported a loss of $231 million, or 39 cents a share, for the quarter.

While he said it was disappointing to incur a loss in the quarter, Jordan added that the company is “focused on controlling what we can control and have already taken swift action to address our financial underperformance and adjust for revised aircraft delivery expectations.” 

Jordan also said Southwest is re-planning quickly in order “to mitigate the operational and financial impacts while maintaining dependable and reliable flight schedules” for customers.

The company is also implementing other cost control initiatives, such as limiting hiring and offering voluntary time off programs, according to Jordan.

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A Southwest Airlines passenger flight takes off from San Diego International Airport in San Diego on Feb. 3, 2023. (Reuters/Mike Blake/File Photo / Reuters Photos)

The Federal Aviation Administration ramped up oversight of Boeing and its supplier Spirit AeroSystems, which included halting production expansion of the Max after a door plug blew out mid-flight on one of Alaska Airlines’ Max 9 jets in early January.

Since then, many carriers have felt the impact of the manufacturing delays, with United Airlines indicating that it lost about $200 million due to the temporary grounding of the Boeing 737 Max 9 earlier this year.

The carrier announced in March that it had to pause pilot hiring temporarily. It also recently asked pilots to take unpaid time off as delays persist.