Southwest Airlines considering changing its open seating policy: CEO

Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan said Thursday that nan bearer is considering changing nan boarding and seating processes connected its planes successful bid to improve its financial position.

“We’re looking into caller initiatives, things for illustration nan measurement we spot and committee our aircraft,” Jordan said successful an question and reply pinch CNBC connected Thursday aft nan institution reported a nett nonaccomplishment successful nan anterior quarter.

Southwest became known for having a azygous system people compartment pinch unfastened seating assignments.

Passengers will beryllium assigned a boarding group but erstwhile they are onboard, they tin take immoderate disposable seat.

Customers tin salary other to committee early to get their preferred seat.

In nan company’s latest net report, Jordan warned that nan bearer is contending pinch financial fallout from Boeing delays and announced it’s pulling retired of aggregate underperforming airports.

Southwest reported a nonaccomplishment of $231 million, aliases 39 cents a share, for nan quarter.

Southwest’s CEO said changing really they committee nan level whitethorn consequence successful profitable returns. Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK

While he said it was disappointing to incur a nonaccomplishment successful nan quarter, Jordan added that nan institution is “focused connected controlling what we tin power and person already taken swift action to reside our financial underperformance and set for revised craft transportation expectations.” 

Jordan besides said Southwest is re-planning quickly successful bid “to mitigate nan operational and financial impacts while maintaining dependable and reliable formation schedules” for customers.

The institution is besides implementing different costs power initiatives, specified arsenic limiting hiring and offering voluntary clip disconnected programs, according to Jordan.

The Federal Aviation Administration ramped up oversight of Boeing and its supplier Spirit AeroSystems, which included halting accumulation description of nan Max aft a doorway plug blew retired mid-flight connected 1 of Alaska Airlines’ Max 9 jets successful early January.

Since then, galore carriers person felt nan effect of nan manufacturing delays, pinch United Airlines indicating that it mislaid astir $200 cardinal owed to nan impermanent grounding of nan Boeing 737 Max 9 earlier this year.

The bearer announced successful March that it had to region aviator hiring temporarily. It besides precocious asked pilots to return unpaid clip disconnected arsenic delays persist.