Back to Squawk list
  • 33

New aircraft interior will allow Southwest to boost capacity by about 2,500 seats

Enviado
 
Following a two-year trial of environmentally friendly and durable aircraft cabin products on its ‘Green Plane’, Southwest Airlines has unveiled a new interior for its Boeing 737-700 fleet that will enable the carrier to reduce weight by 635 pounds per aircraft and improve sustainability while adding thousands of additional seats to its inventory. (blog.apex.aero) Más...

Sort type: [Top] [Newest]


99NY
99NY 0
Super. Cram another six more people into the plane at the cost of actual seat cushions and recline...
ExCalbr
Victor Engel 0
Seems like you didn't read carefully, or are you suggesting what was said was wrong?
Eric97123
Eric Cothern 0
Moo! Moo! Moo!
cheshire
Cal Keegan 0
Bloomberg News writes "room for the seats was created by switching to lighter, thinner padding; limiting the range of recline to two inches from three, and replacing seat-back pouches with netting. Pitch, or the distance from the back of a seat to the back of the one behind it, will slip to 32 inches from 33."

Thinner padding and less recline but with no sacrifice in comfort! Thanks, Southwest! Why don't you just stack us all into cargo containers?
kman101
Kevin Romero 0
the folks at the FAA frowns on that.
WALLACE24
WALLACE24 0
No matter how they spin it, we all know where the room for another row came from.
xmacfly
ALLEN McLEAN 0
Six more pax and still a 635# reduction? Have you seen the size of many of the passengers? How about the poor slug in the window seat. Barely room to put your feet down never mind actually get into the seat. People are not 5'00" and 100# folks. Get em packed tight enough you may not need safety belts. (another weight saving element) Pack em in!!!
sparkie624
sparkie624 0
LOL, I have had to sit between 2 people with the armrest up. Each one was over 400 lbs each. Glad I was able to upgrade to Jump Seat and fly with the pilots that day...
HES4
Howard Scott 0
If southwest packs any more people on a plane they are going to need a tool to pry them out.
JKMSEM
John Middaugh 0
SWA is the most pro-active commercial airline in today's industry. It's easy to criticize; but, they are at the cutting edge and leading the way. I wish they would extend their market to Alaska.
WALLACE24
WALLACE24 0
As I said earlier, we all know where the space came from. To their credit, SWA understands most people buy their ticket based on price and not amenities. They will probably fill those 6 extra seats with no problem regardless of seat size. I just get a kick out of the spin from the PR group.
mortyoung
Mort Young 0
“Because we were able to sit you down and back in your seat, we created more personal space for you. As a result we were able to put in six more seats into the aircraft. So we have gone from 137 seats to 143 seats. We [offer] an average pitch of 31in. That is down an inch from 32in today. However, from a cubic space standpoint – the personal space around your body – we were able to maintain that, based on how you’re sitting in the seat. So, because you’re sitting at an angle different than what you sit at today, you’re able to extend your legs out in
front of the seat in front of you, you have more shin and leg clearance then you do today in our current seat."

And once passengers are shorter, slimmer and, perhaps drugged by free shots of tomato juice, they can add another 6-7 seats.
Daddude
Dismal. Now they will be using the same small, hard seats the others use - and cram more in! This is undoubtedly the start of the downfall for SWA! I have always loved their seats and the extra legroom I got - and it wasn't extra.
This is a little bit of extra for each and every passenger - and now it will diminish what made SWA special in the past.
Sad news to hear...
WALLACE24
WALLACE24 0
Ticket sales will tell the tale. We can bitch all we want, but if those seats get filled.......................end of story.
CptMatt
Robert McNay 0
I wonder how long it will be until we see Southwest doing like the Japanese subway, having guys on the jetway with baton to push the people in so they can close the door.
toolguy105
toolguy105 0
Looks like SW is going to keep the AT717. I would have thought they would have gotten rid of then to stay with there on type philosophy. That plus the fact they are not all that fuel efficient.

It might be they need to keep them while they wait for the 200 planes they just ordered.
Daddude
@James...yes, they will sell the tickets...they will fill the seats; folks will grumble and still fly. They have fewer choices now - and with the absorption of AT, even fewer.
SWA acts more and more like an "old fashioned" or legacy airline. Less for the customer means more for them - although they are already filling up the airplanes.
@toolguy105...I think SWA will continue to fly the 717s only on some x-AT routes that are a bit thin for a bigger plane. That's the first I had heard about fuel economy on the 717; I suppose it's because of the low passenger density. Perhaps SWA will turn them into a First Class only service for their best routes? It'll be fun to find out!
toolguy105
toolguy105 0
Compared to the M80 series they were meant to replace they are more fuel efficient. Compared to the present 737 and the 200 on order no.
Daddude
The 717 cannot be a replacement for the MD80 - the 717 is much, much smaller. The replacement for the MD80 was the MD90! The 717 - or MD87 - is more like a DC-9-30.
Torpey
Mark Torpey 0
Why do flyers worry about reclining, especially on short Southwest flights. I would never do this to the individual behind me, yet I always seem to be the victim of the person in front. I wish they would totally do away with the recline button. I'm tired of eating peanuts off of the head of the passenger in front of me.
Daddude
Good point...although I do like the recline. I'm a big guy and it really cramps me up. I only take it back a couple of stops. I don't think courtesy will ever be the norm - not in this day and age.
ckevinhamel
Kevin Hamel 0
Definitely a good point, Mark, up to a point. The longer the flight, the more I would be inclined to recline a little. However, I would trade that little recline for a bit more width any day!
PATRON66
James Mason 0
I wonder if the people who picked the thinner seat cushion material just sat down and decided it was good. Have the people who picked the seats sit in them for 3 hrs to see how they really feel. Having worked with "beancounters" anything that saves a nickel is great to them.
kman101
Kevin Romero 0
i thought that WN wanted nothing to do with the 717's? at least that had been the last thing i had read.
WALLACE24
WALLACE24 0
Let's see, is less less or is less more? I want to learn that magic so when I have less money I can have more.
ExCalbr
Victor Engel 0
When they print dollar bills on thinner paper, you can fit more money in your wallet.
WALLACE24
WALLACE24 0
I don't have a space constraint for money. Just a lack of the commodity.
skuttlerats
Jeffrey Babey 0
Reduced from 3 inches to 2 inches, I'm sure you all caught that. And that's supposed to get me into to their "cattle trucks"? Shirley, you can't be serious?
partsmanba
Brian Alexander 0
Yes it is - and don't call me Shirley! (God help me, I cannot resist a good Airplane joke!)
LaDiableRouge
Maddy Bedell 0
Just one more reason to fly your own plane....
preacher1
preacher1 0
"new, thinner, more durable foam fill", on the seats. Don't thinner generally mean harder??????
mldavis2
Mike Davis 0
For what it's worth, from one who flies in the coach section with my 6'4" frame, I can tell you that the Southwest seat spacing is about 2" greater for kneeroom that any other plane I've flown on. 757's are the very worst with narrower seats and no breathing room. I can actually prevent a seat in front of me from reclining in most planes by sitting in a normal position with my knees on the seat back frame in front of me. I can't do that in the SW 737's. SW has also removed those silly 1st class seats which is how the add another row or two.
sparkie624
sparkie624 0
I know SWA, they are not thinking green for the environment. They are thinking green for the money they want to make. They do not care about the people who work for them and even less about the ones who fly with them. I used to work there and I know.
99NY
99NY 0
Stop calling me Shirley
panam1971
panam1971 0
I am serious...
WALLACE24
WALLACE24 0
Hope their pilots continue to do math differently than their PR people.
sparkie624
sparkie624 0
Good one. And very True.
chalet
chalet 0
SHOEHORN Airlines announces the departure of flight No.............. SARDINE PACKING Airlines announces the arrival of flight No....... PEOPLE COMPRESSING Airlines regrets to inform you that flight No. ... is delayed
rayzeeman
Ray Zimmermann 0
Wow, carpet squares, how innovative; like they haven't been using those in office buildings for years. And what does the statement mean, ". . . you’re able to extend your legs out in front of the seat in front of you . . ????"
MimosaDrive
MimosaDrive 0
I loved the line - "we created more personal space for you. As a result we were able to put in six more seats into the aircraft".

Whoever wrote that must still be laughing.

Entrar

¿No tienes cuenta? ¡Regístrate ahora (gratis) para acceder a prestaciones personalizadas, alertas de vuelos y mucho más!
¿Sabías que el rastreo de vuelos de FlightAware se sostiene gracias a los anuncios?
Puedes ayudarnos a que FlightAware siga siendo gratuito permitiendo que aparezcan los anuncios de FlightAware.com. Trabajamos arduamente para que nuestros anuncios sean discretos y de interés para el rubro a fin de crear una experiencia positiva. Es rápido y fácil whitelist ads en FlightAware o por favor considera acceder a nuestras cuentas premium.
Descartar