Southwest Airlines is exploring a long-haul strategy, potentially introducing a second aircraft type, moving away from its exclusive use of Boeing B737s.
The airline’s fleet currently includes 332 B737-700s, 277 B737-8s, 203 B737-800s, with orders for 286 B737-7s and 186 B737-8s.
Since 2024, Southwest has implemented assigned seating, increased legroom, red-eye operations, and sold off a sustainable aviation fuels subsidiary.
CEO Bob Jordan indicated that widebody or narrowbody jets could support long-haul plans, with no decisions finalised. Any fleet changes would take three to four years to implement.
CEO Bob Jordan shared: “We are looking at our next strategy, past things that we are doing today. It is all about meeting the needs of our customers. We know that we have customers that want things that we can’t provide, like a lounge, like true premium, like long-haul international. You’ve got widebody jets that can handle that mission. You’ve got narrowbody jets that can handle that mission. And I’ll just tell you that everything is on the table. The management was continually looking at all kinds of things that even a few years ago no one ever would have considered possible for us.”
