Southwest Airlines will fly with new seats from 2025, part of an aircraft interiors update for the company. Developed in partnership with design house Tangerine, the new cabins go hard on the Southwest Heart symbol, adding it to headrests and the carpet. The new design also includes a shift to Recaro as the company’s seating supplier.
Our redesigned cabin interior significantly enhances our inflight Customer experience and will complement the amazing service that our Crews provide.
– Tony Roach, Senior Vice President and Chief Customer Officer at Southwest Airlines
With this order Southwest joins KLM, TAP Air Portugal, and IndiGo, among others, as a customer for Recaro’s BL3710 line of seats.
Some details on the seats, such as the sunray pattern in the coverings (material from Tapis Corp), are more aesthetic than practical. Fortunately the companies also made choices to improve the passenger experience in more tangible ways.
Read more: Southwest searching for new seats
The new seats will include Recaro’s multi-adjustable headrest cushion for enhanced head and neck support. The seats will also include an electronics holder for those streaming movies on board, as well as USB-A and USB-C power.
The power ports are shown in the renderings at eye level, adjacent to the PED holders, for additional convenience.
The company’s commitment to in-seat power (provided by Astronics) previously was announced covering the 737 MAX fleet. The company now confirms it will retrofit those amenities, plus larger overhead bins, to existing MAX 8 and 737-800 aircraft. That process is anticipated to be completed over the next several years.
The commitment is a major win for Recaro, snagging a longtime Collins Aerospace customer. Southwest (along with United Airlines) helped launch the Collins Meridian single-aisle seat. Recaro has a significant operation in Fort Worth, not far from Southwest’s headquarters in Dallas.
“RECARO is proud to collaborate on expanding our footprint in the Americas, especially when working with a local partner like Southwest who began their story at the same time as us,” said Mark Hiller, Ph.D., and CEO of RECARO Aircraft Seating and RECARO Holding. “Our new seat will be a great addition to the Southwest Customer Experience, as its durable design and comfort features will serve Passengers well.”
The potential shift of Southwest’s seating supplier was first tipped by PaxEx.Aero in September 2022.
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Rick Voit says
Hi Seth, what’s the word on seat pitch for this new configuration? In the past we have counted on SWA for an extra inch or two of legroom
Seth Miller says
No change to the number of seats on board, so I’d expect pitch to remain the same.