In early 2024, Southwest Airlines announced plans to refresh its cabin interiors as of 2025. The funny thing is that this announcement came before the airline decided to change everything else, from introducing extra legroom seats and assigned seating, to charging for checked bags.
Anyway, Southwest’s first plane with the new style interiors has just been delivered, so we finally have our first look at this…
In this post:
Southwest unveils new cabin interiors with RECARO seats
Southwest has just taken delivery of its first aircraft with new style cabin interiors, which will be installed on all newly delivered Boeing 737 MAX aircraft going forward. The first plane has the registration code N8972S, and is entering service as of October 16, 2025.
As before, the plane has 175 seats, though spacing is a bit different than in the past, given that the airline now offers extra legroom seating at the front of the cabin (which comes as the expense of legroom further back in the cabin). As you’ll see, the extra legroom seats are also differentiated from the rest of the cabin, with some lighter “stripes” in the seat finishes.
The Dallas-based airline has partnered with RECARO on the new seating, and specifically, has the company’s R2 model installed. Each seat features two power outlets (USB-A and USB-C), a seat back personal device holder, and a multi-adjustable headrest cushion. The tray table also has two inset beverage holders, convenient whether you’re left or right handed.
The cabin boasts a refreshed lighting package, updated carpet, and other unique design details. Then there’s Viasat Wi-Fi, which will soon be free for all Rapid Rewards members.
Southwest states that the new design is based on extensive research covering customer and employee perceptions of color, comfort, and their aspirations for the overall onboard experience. The airline claims that the new design brings to life Southwest’s warm energy with deep blue tones, sky blue accents, and a nod to the Southwest Heart woven throughout the carpet.
I mean, it’s hard to get too excited about a new economy cabin that doesn’t even have personal televisions, but I do have to say that the cabin looks quite nice in terms of the little design details, like the stitching on the seats, the different tones of blue on the headrest, the pattern on the carpet, etc.
RECARO is known for its very slim and lightweight seats, which are of course great for airline economics, and perhaps a bit less great for passenger comfort. The airline claims it took this into account, but I haven’t yet sat in one of these seats, so can’t chime in.
Will Southwest’s existing aircraft get new interiors?
The intention is that these exact new interiors will primarily only be available on newly delivered Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. So all newly delivered aircraft going forward should get these interiors, while old aircraft generally won’t get these interiors.
That being said, that’s not to say that changes aren’t coming to the rest of the fleet:
- Southwest is currently changing cabin spacing on existing aircraft to add an extra legroom section; that doesn’t mean there are new seats, but it does mean the layout is generally similar
- In recent years, Southwest has been retrofitting some of its existing planes to add power outlets and larger overhead bins, so those are progressively being installed on a number of aircraft
- Southwest has also announced that in the second half of 2026 and first half of 2027, it’ll retrofit more than half of its Boeing 737-700s with in-seat power (though not new seats)
So yeah, at the moment there’s not a whole lot of consistency when it comes to what you’ll find onboard Southwest aircraft. And while I wouldn’t expect the new interiors on a widespread basis for many years, there should be some more consistency at least between the various features in the next couple of years.
Bottom line
Southwest Airlines has just debuted new cabin interiors on its newly delivered Boeing 737 MAXs. This plane has an all-new cabin design, plus new seats from RECARO. As you’d expect, there’s an extra legroom section, but there are also power ports, new headrests, larger overhead bins, and an updated aesthetic. Don’t expect to see these on a widespread basis anytime soon, but it’s still fun to see the direction being taken.
What do you make of Southwest’s new cabin interiors?
Lipstick on a pig.
Spectacular how quickly a truly iconic brand and company is getting absolutely demolished by calculators. Sad to see. Spectacular. And sad. But also spectacular. And also so very sad.
The seat pitch shown in the picture looks abominable. Obviously you can spring for 'extra legroom' seats but I try not to, not because I can't afford to but I don't want to encourage this sort of overmarketing. (Remember that all this slicin' and dicin', differentiating who gets WiFi and differential pricing all requires administrative overhead which we, the passengers, will ultimately pay for.) I liked the old-fashioned SWA model -- you give them money,...
The seat pitch shown in the picture looks abominable. Obviously you can spring for 'extra legroom' seats but I try not to, not because I can't afford to but I don't want to encourage this sort of overmarketing. (Remember that all this slicin' and dicin', differentiating who gets WiFi and differential pricing all requires administrative overhead which we, the passengers, will ultimately pay for.) I liked the old-fashioned SWA model -- you give them money, they transport you -- but its history so they've just become another generic US domestic, something to be avoided unless there's absolutely no other choice.
"...they've just become another generic US domestic..." Actually worse than a generic domestic as they can't provided a "first class" seating option, no hot meals (no galley) and no lounge access. (no lounges)
Oversized bins with more head injury potential, pretty looking seat fabrics and carpets, cannot compensate for the three by three cattle class layout stuffed inside a Boeing Max …. No! I ain’t going in this Boeing ….
you have to commend WN for executing pretty quickly on a huge number of initiatives in a pretty short period of time.
This is all undoubtedly just one step in the process of becoming like a legacy - and the big 3 - but these are solid steps.
It bothers me that the wedge/stripes on those seats aren't mirrored to be symmetrical across the aisle.
@Ben off-topic: you may want to write a piece on the changes announced today by CX to their FF programme. A rare occasion where a FF programme actually enacts customer-friendly changes
Looks somewhat 'nice' but those 'extra legroom' seats come at the cost of everyone else's legroom (they didn't extend the length of the plane!). Yeah, I'm a bit cynical about Southwest these days (and it's not just about the loss of those delicious honey-roasted peanuts!) Unfortunately, I expect Elliott (mis)Management only 'allowed' this 'investment' in new cabins, because it was likely already paid-for, or the penalty for getting out of it would have cost them...
Looks somewhat 'nice' but those 'extra legroom' seats come at the cost of everyone else's legroom (they didn't extend the length of the plane!). Yeah, I'm a bit cynical about Southwest these days (and it's not just about the loss of those delicious honey-roasted peanuts!) Unfortunately, I expect Elliott (mis)Management only 'allowed' this 'investment' in new cabins, because it was likely already paid-for, or the penalty for getting out of it would have cost them more. Otherwise, such 'vultures' rarely 'spend' on actual improvements (Retain talent by paying more? No way. Add a First Class, some lounges? Yeah right!) Rather, they'll smash, grab, and exit, which harms workers and consumers, alike. It wouldn't be out of the question to see them load the company with debt, fire everyone they can, then push to pay those that remain a lot less. Reliability? Not their problem; no laws or agencies will hold them accountable. Pesky call centers? No more! Let AI be the customer service... And, dear passengers, shame on you for your loyalty; say goodbye to things that used to be 'included' (in this case, getting rid of 2 free checked bags, free seat selection, and more flexible cancellations/credits.) At the end of the day, we're Chase bank's loss-leader...a credit card company with wings!
No IFE = no inconsiderate kettle TAP TAP TAPping the back of my head all flight. And more space in the footwells too. Cheers!
It's nice to see an airline still install both USB-A and USB-C plugs these days!
Is it? By the time these cabins are rolled out on a widespread basis, most people won't know what the USB-A plug is for.
Lol are you expecting them to retrofit like two planes a year?
You can still find a USB-A to USB-C charging cable that can charge most devices...