Southwest Airlines recently completed a fleet-wide project to add extra legroom seating. This project, completed in January 2026, involved repitching the all-economy cabins that Southwest operates, with the 737-700s losing a few seats in the process, and on its own, it gives customers more seating choices. However, it was controversial as the extra legroom seats were added in conjunction with Southwest’s rollout of assigned seating, which introduced assignment fees as well as an added surcharge for the new extra legroom seats.

Southwest is also embarking on another, quieter refurbishment project. Unlike the extra legroom initiative, this is an effort to enhance the customer experience by adding power ports and larger overhead bins to its 737s. As the carrier aims to compete more closely with the legacy carriers, these amenities are needed to stay competitive, and the new overhead bins will also help solve the challenges brought about by the carrier’s new assigned seat policies, as customers are having issues finding space.

Southwest Airlines’ Current Interiors

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Southwest Airlines currently operates the Boeing 737-700, 737-800, and 737 MAX 8, while also awaiting deliveries of the Boeing 737 MAX 7 in the future. All of its 737s now feature extra-legroom seating, but the carrier is operating three different interiors within its fleet. The ‘Evolve Interior’ is the oldest, featuring outdated B/E Aerospace (now Collins Aerospace) Innovator II seats, and is on all 737-700s, along with Southwest’s oldest 737-800s.

The 737-700s have blue seat covers, while the Evolve 737-800s have tan seat covers. Later 737-800s were delivered with the ‘Heart Interior’, which featured Collins Aerospace Meridian seats, and most 737 MAX 8 aircraft were also delivered with the Heart Interior. All 737-800s and 737 MAX 8s have been delivered with the Boeing Sky Interior, but only newer 737 MAX 8s were delivered with the larger Boeing Space Bins, which can fit standard-sized luggage on its side, allowing for significantly more bags.

In addition, all 737 MAX 8s and select 737-800s have in-seat power outlets, while aircraft with the Evolve Interior do not. All Southwest Airlines planes also feature Wi-Fi. The latest interior to come from Southwest Airlines is the ‘Elevated Interior’. This interior debuted on the 737 MAX 8 in 2025 and is also being retrofitted to select 737-800s.

At its core, the Elevated Interior uses Recaro R2 seats, complete with differentiated seat covers for extra-legroom seats. In addition, these aircraft feature USB-A and USB-C ports. As a whole, the 737 MAX 8 fleet is made up of a mix of Heart and Elevated aircraft, while the 737-800 fleet is mixed between aircraft with the Elevated, Heart, and Evolve cabins. All 737-700s feature Evolve cabins.

Adding In-Seat Power To The 737s

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Southwest Airlines is actually running two distinct fleet retrofit projects with different timelines, due to different supplier schedules and constraints, with one of them being an effort to add in-seat power outlets. Rather curiously, Southwest does not offer universal plugs on any of its planes, but its 737 MAX 8s and some 737-800s offer USB-A as well as USB-C ports. However, the B/E Aerospace Innovator II seats cannot support in-seat charging ports, meaning that they have to go.

Southwest is currently retrofitting 737-800s to include USB ports, and is taking a three-lane approach. 737-800s with the Evolve Interior are getting their B/E Aerospace Innovator seats replaced by the Recaro R2 seats as part of the Elevated Interior, while some 737-800s with the Heart Interior are simply getting ports added to their Meridian seats. Meanwhile, the remaining 737-800s with the Heart Interior will be retrofitted with the Elevated Interior, and their Collins Meridian seats will be installed on select 737-700s with power ports.

While all 737-800s will have power outlets and all 737 MAX 8s already offer it, the Collins Meridian seats with USB ports will only be coming to 172 Boeing 737-700s. The remaining 117 737-700s in the Dallas-based carrier’s fleet are set to be retired over the next few years. Southwest is planning to install the Meridian seats on the 737-700 in the second half of 2026, and expects to complete the retrofits in mid 2027, prioritizing its younger 737-700s.

Adding Larger Overhead Bins To The 737s

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All of Southwest’s 737-800s and 737 MAX 8s feature the Boeing Sky Interior, but most feature the original Sky Interior’s overhead bins. As such, it plans to retrofit most of its fleet with the newer, larger Boeing Space Bins, which can hold up to 50% more bags as they can fit luggage sideways. A 737-800 and 737 MAX 8 could previously only accommodate 118 bags, but can hold 178 with the Space Bins, while a 737-700’s overhead bin capacity jumps from 90 to 134.

Southwest is retrofitting about ten 737s each night with the Space Bins, with work being performed at the carrier’s maintenance facilities in Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Atlanta, Orlando, and Denver. Currently, Southwest is aiming to have roughly 70% of its fleet fitted with the Boeing Space Bin by the end of 2026, which would roughly equate to all 737-800s and 737 MAX 8s. However, what’s unclear about the Space Bin retrofit program is Southwest’s plans for the 737-700s.

The 737-700 can be retrofitted with either the Space Bins or the full Boeing Sky Interior, but both products are reportedly very expensive. In addition, the retrofit would require a Supplemental Type Certificate, which is a time-consuming and costly process. While the carrier has announced full modernization work for its 737-700s that will receive the Heart Interior, it’s unclear if this only means upgraded mood-lighting or if they will also receive the Space Bins.

Why The Space Bin Retrofits Are Especially Important

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Previously, overhead bin size was not a major issue for Southwest Airlines because the carrier gave every customer two complimentary checked bags. Today, however, this is a thing of the past, and this is leading to many more passengers bringing carry-on bags instead. Of course, this results in the usual issue of passengers having to gate-check luggage, but this has also reportedly caused issues for customers booking seats with extra legroom, as they’re now finding that their overhead bins have already been filled when boarding.

These growing pains are to be expected for an airline that has made a major pivot in its customer-facing policies and practices, but they do need to be addressed if Southwest wishes to compete with Delta, United, and American. In addition to installing Space Bins on its 737s, Southwest is also installing placards specifically designating select overhead bins as being reserved for customers seated in extra legroom seats, a common practice at the US legacy carriers.

In addition to the new extra legroom seats, assigned seats, and checked-bag fees, Southwest has also now begun sorting passengers into eight groups for boarding. Here, too, the carrier has faced complaints, and it has since revised its boarding process. This primarily consisted of reassigning ticket types to different groups in an effort to make each group more equal in size, and this also helps to ensure that passengers in extra legroom seats get access to the overhead bins above their pricier seats.

Another Improvement Is Coming To Southwest’s Planes

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In February 2026, Southwest Airlines became yet another customer for SpaceX’s lucrative Starlink Wi-Fi system, sponsored by T-Mobile. Starlink is quickly becoming one of the most popular next-generation airline Wi-Fi systems, as it’s relatively affordable to install with comparatively quick turnaround times, while passengers love its high speed and low latency. Starlink is required to be offered for free to passengers, but airlines have used this opportunity to drive loyalty program engagement by requiring a frequent flyer number to access it.

Southwest’s first Starlink-equipped 737 will enter service during the summer of 2026, and the carrier plans to equip over 300 aircraft with the system by the end of 2026. Presumably, future 737 MAX 8 and 737 MAX 7 deliveries will also include Starlink, although it’s unclear whether the carrier intends to retrofit its 737-700s, 737-800s, 737 MAX 8s, or a mix of these aircraft.

Southwest made a series of controversial changes in 2025 and started 2026 by introducing its assigned seats policy along with its new boarding groups. However, the carrier is also now offering seats with more legroom, a product option that is in high demand, while also ensuring that nearly all of its aircraft have USB ports in the near future.

Further out, the carrier will also be offering what is perhaps the most popular Wi-Fi system currently flying on an airliner, available at no cost to frequent flyers. Despite the prior year’s controversies, traveling on Southwest should be a significantly improved experience in the coming years compared to the past.