Southwest Airlines’ new cabin design adds six extra seats
Southwest Airlines, the nation’s largest carrier of domestic travelers, announced plans Tuesday to add six extra seats on each plane under a new interior design of lighter and more eco-friendly materials.
To increase the number of seats from 137 to 143 on each plane, Southwest said it will install low-profile cushions on each seat and will reduce the recline from three inches to two inches. The leg room, the space between the seat backs, will also shrink from 32 inches to 31 inches.
Southwest said the new design will cost about $60 million to install but will help generate about $10 million a year in extra revenue from the added ticket sales.
Installation of the new seats will begin in March and should be completed throughout the fleet in 2013.
-- Hugo Martin, Los Angeles Times