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A New Look Southwest Airlines, including First Class, Could Be On The Horizon
Denver International Airport
As analyzed by A View From The Wing, Southwest’s future strategy is based on the theory that customers post the COVID-19 Pandemic want to spend more money. This has meant the airline has needed to adjust its offering, and the carrier isn’t finished yet. In the next three to four years, the airline may be very different from what we know now.
Over the next half-decade, Southwest’s CEO has suggested that they will continue to expand their network, giving travelers fewer and fewer reasons to book with another airline or feel like they need to travel on another airline. This attraction to Southwest will be through more ‘optionality’ in the cabin, which may include its own first-class product. Jordan explains:
“Where I think we’ll be if we’re sitting here talking five years from now is we will have continued to greatly expand the product offering. Not just to expand it for ego’s sake, as an example, but we’re expanding it because I want to give you fewer and fewer reasons to book another airline or feel like you need to travel on another airline…
“I think we’ll have more optionality within the cabin, could include true first class.
“…We’ll also offer you access to destinations that we don’t serve today. I think it’s likely that we’ll, over that period of time, delve into long-haul international.
“…[W]e now have seven partnerships with other airlines, and we can get you to nearly any place in the world connecting with those partners.”
A Long-Haul Network From Baltimore
Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) has also been mooted as a natural long-haul hopping point for the airline, where the budget airline already offers an extensive short-haul network. Already at BWI, Southwest demands almost three-quarters of all flight operations (according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics).
|
Airline |
% Of Operations At BWI |
|---|---|
|
Southwest Airlines |
71% |
|
Delta Air Lines |
4% |
|
United Airlines |
4% |
While the airline is yet to commit or announce any intention to purchase long-haul capable aircraft, or the destinations that they will serve, routes from Baltimore would likely be those to Europe, with key cities like London, Paris, Rome, or Madrid likely high on the airline’s agenda should long-haul flights ever take to the skies.
The only other airlines currently offering long-haul services from Baltimore are British Airways with year-round services to 
London Heathrow Airport (LHR) and Icelandair with its non-stop flights to Reykjavik Keflavik International Airport (KEF).
Why Southwest Airlines’ Boeing 737s Make A First Class Cabin So Difficult To Build
A closer look at what a Southwest Airlines first class product might look like, and what it would require.
Starlink, First Class Cabins, and Airport Lounges
A high priority for Southwest is the rollout of Starlink to the airline fleet. The airline is hoping that more than 300 of its aircraft will be fitted with satellite connectivity by the end of the year, and Jordan is hoping that WN can beat United Airlines for full fleet penetration.
Introducing the carrier’s own lounge network is also in the pipeline; the airline already has five on the drawing board with Honolulu International Airport (HNL), 
Denver International Airport (DEN), Nashville International Airport (BNA), Dallas Love Field (DAL), and Austin Bergstrom International Airport (AUS). While the airline has never had a lounge network before, Jordan has noted that it’s the second most requested thing by its travelers.
The desire from customers to have more options like first class, lounge networks, WiFi connectivity, and long-haul routes when flying with Southwest is why the airline has started looking at what a different future could look like for the world’s largest operator of the Boeing 737 family.
