Southwest Airlines Debuted New Cabin Seats And Travelers Already Hate Them

Southwest Airlines debuted new cabin seats and a newly designed cabin layout that is set to roll out in early 2025 and the response to the news has been overwhelmingly negative.

For decades, the airline industry has prioritized profits over traveler comforts. Seats have gotten less comfortable, person space has evaporated, overhead storage has disappeared to force travelers to pay baggage checking fees. And now these new Southwest Airlines seats set to debut in 2025 appear to only further that trend as the seats themselves look barely thicker than an early 2000’s laptop:

In a press release on Friday, Southwest Airlines announced the new seats, cabin design, and new flight attendant uniforms. They are selling it to the public as “customer experience enhancements and modernization of brand elements.”

Why now? It’s unclear. Southwest Airlines was ranked as the best budget/economy airline in the US last year by travelers, ranked above Delta and JetBlue.

While we missed the initial press release from Southwest, we did see the backlash on social media. This post on Threads from TheTransitGuy represents the general sentiment the public feels toward the new ‘paper thin’ seats that seem like a major step backward in travel:

Post by @thetransitguy

View on Threads

It is possible the seats are made from a comfortable material. But if it looks like a dead fish and smells like a dead fish then chances are, it’s a dead fish.

Others on social media had jokes about the new Southwest Airlines seats:

Many online are comparing the new Southwest seats to the seats found on Spirit Airlines, the same Southwest Airlines that ranked as the 2nd worst airline in America behind Frontier according to the same study that ranked Southwest #1.

In addition to the new seats, Southwest is rolling out new onboard power ports and larger overhead bins, enhanced WiFi, and ‘new functionality for Southwest’s digital platforms and airport kiosks.’

Given that they are the #1 budget airline in America, we should at least give them the benefit of the doubt that these seats aren’t as bad as they look.