Southwest Airlines has been increasingly looking to appeal to premium customers, adding extra legroom seating while overhauling its credit cards. Current market trends have seen a massive increase in demand for premium cabins, and this is where the real money is within the domestic market. Southwest CEO Bob Jordan stated in December 2025 that the carrier wants to quadruple profitability by the end of 2026, and it will need a true domestic first class to achieve this.

This would slot above its current extra legroom seating options, and would be equivalent to the domestic first class products long offered by Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Hawaiian Airlines and United Airlines. In addition, Breeze Airways also offers a similar product, and Frontier is working on its own first class, while JetBlue has long been rumored to be developing a ‘Mini Mint’ product. For Southwest, a true first class product couldn’t come soon enough.

What Southwest Is Likely To Introduce

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Southwest Airlines has not announced firm plans to introduce a domestic first class, but CEO Jordan stated in December 2025 that the carrier is ‘seriously considering’ a premium offering. When almost every other airline in the US already offers it or is planning it, a Southwest first class is only a matter of time. Some have speculated that the carrier may offer first class passengers an economy seat but block the middle seat, as is common in Europe, but this would be uncompetitive with what’s offered by US competitors.

Instead, Southwest’s first class seat would likely resemble a wider recliner seat, as is the standard in the US. Southwest has long partnered with Collins Aerospace for its economy seats, but has more recently selected Recaro for its latest interiors. As such, you’d likely see Southwest select the Collins Aerospace MiQ (used by American Airlines and Delta Air Lines on the Airbus A220) or the Recaro R5 (selected by American Airlines on the A321XLR and Delta Air Lines on the A321neo).

You can probably expect a two-two layout and 16 seats on the Boeing 737-800/737 MAX 8, as is standard in the US, along with 12 seats on the 737-700/737 MAX 7. The standard seat pitch for domestic first class is 36 to 37 inches (91.44 centimeters to 93.98 centimeters), but this is quite close to Southwest’s generous seat pitch for extra legroom seats. With this in mind, the extra legroom seats may lose a little bit of legroom, or Southwest may offer slightly more legroom in first class when it comes.

The Challenges Of Introducing First Class

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Southwest currently installs 175 economy seats on its 737-800s/737 MAX 8s, and 137 seats on its 737-700s. These layouts are dense, but not so much that legroom is tight. Adding a first class cabin would likely drop total capacity to below 170 seats on the larger 737s and close to 130 seats or fewer on the 737-700. While the added revenue from the first class seats should compensate for the lost capacity, it will still result in higher per-seat costs which will make it critical for Southwest to consistently earn a revenue premium for the cabin.

The bigger challenge in regards to a new layout is to do with galley space. Southwest has not installed full-size galleys in the front of its 737s, while the 737-700s also lack full-size rear galleys (the 737-800s and 737 MAX 8s do feature full-size rear galleys). This is fine right now because Southwest’s onboard service is quite limited, and this allows the carrier to install more seats since the smaller galleys take up less floor space. However, with first class, passengers generally expect full meals on longer flights.

Installing ovens is not an expensive or complicated procedure, relatively speaking, but this change will also need to come with full-size forward galleys to accommodate the extra meals. In addition, the Dallas-based carrier’s 737-700s may also need to be refurbished with full-size rear galleys, depending on whether Southwest changes its service for economy passengers. With the larger galleys, this will decrease available floor space for seats, further restricting capacity.

Southwest’s Current Retrofit Projects

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Southwest completed its fleetwide retrofit of extra legroom seats at the turn of the year, and the carrier is currently working on two separate interior improvement projects. The first is to install USB ports across its entire fleet. These are already installed on all 737s equipped with the Recaro R2 seats, while planes with the slightly older Collins Meridian seats are being retrofitted. Meanwhile, aircraft with the aging B/E Aerospace Innovator II seats are either being retired or receiving new USB-equipped seats.

All of Southwest’s 737-800s and 737 MAX 8s feature the Boeing Sky Interior, but the carrier is now retrofitting these planes with the larger Boeing Space Bins, which can accommodate standard-sized carry-ons on their sides (the original Sky Interior bins could not). Southwest aims to install the Space Bins on 70% of its fleet by the end of 2026, which equates to essentially all 737-800s and 737 MAX 8s. However, it’s unclear what will happen to the 737-700s, given their age and the relatively high costs associated with the Space Bin retrofit.

In the near future, Southwest will begin installing Starlink high-speed low-latency Wi-Fi. Starlink is affordable to install and is required to be offered to passengers for free, which is why airlines and customers love it. Southwest’s first Starlink-equipped 737 is targeted to enter service during the summer, and future 737 MAX deliveries will presumably feature the system. Southwest also aims to equip over 300 aircraft with Starlink by the end of 2026, although it’s unclear what its exact retrofit plans are.

Southwest’s Other Big Projects

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Southwest Airlines is currently working on new lounge spaces for its most loyal customers. The carrier has secured a 12,241 square foot (1,137 square meter) space in Honolulu while planning out premium spaces in Nashville, Dallas Love Field, and Denver. It’s also acquired a lease on a truly massive 40,000 square foot (3,716 square meter) lounge in Austin, and the carrier has officially labeled it as a crew lounge.

However, it’s far larger than what a crew lounge would require, making it far more likely that it’s a customer lounge that Southwest is keeping under tight wraps. Domestic first class tickets usually do not include lounge or club access, and it’s far more likely that these spaces will instead primarily be for premium cardholders. Southwest is reported to be working with Chase on a new credit card with an annual fee ranging from $395 to $650, and which may include access to the carrier’s new lounge.

Southwest has set up several partnership agreements with foreign airlines, but it’s also been discussing beginning new services to Europe on its own metal. Reykjavik is the most obvious contender, as Southwest’s partnership with Icelandair was the first agreement that it had set up, and Iceland can be served nonstop with the carrier’s Boeing 737 MAX 8s. However, most other destinations in Europe would require another aircraft type, such as an Airbus A321XLR or a widebody.

The Case For Southwest’s Revenue Push

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Southwest was profitable for 47 years until the COVID-19 pandemic, and after the pandemic, the carrier failed to report strong profits. Southwest had thrived in part because of the unique brand that it built, which created a cult following. But Southwest’s quirks had also turned away passengers, and the airline wasn’t earning enough revenue. Elliott Investment Management stepped in and began implementing a series of radical changes that did not go down well with loyalists.

This is because most of the initial changes were geared toward boosting ancillary revenue in the form of adding fees. Open seating went away in favor of paid assigned seats, while checked bags are no longer complimentary. The extra legroom seats came in January, while the carrier also revised its fare types to better segment customers. As a whole, while the changes risked diluting Southwest’s brand, they appear to be working, as the airline’s profits are significantly higher than before.

Ultimately, however, demand has been extremely strong for premium seats, which have much higher margins, and frequent flyer programs are also as lucrative as ever. Southwest’s true path forward lies in boosting loyalty program engagement, improving its monetization strategies, and boosting premium revenue. While Southwest has yet to fully confirm a true first class product, it’s surely only a matter of time until front-row recliners start appearing in its 737s.