Almost put up a post yesterday about the new interiors that Southwest Airlines will be installing in most of its 737 fleet. Take the tour:
I was going to remark upon my dislike for hearing about how something is “sleeker” and “more comfortable” when the bottom line is that they’re cramming six more seats onto the plane so that they can rake in $250 million more in ticket revenue and pay $10 million less in fuel costs. I didn’t like how with all their talk about how “eco-friendly” their new cabins will be, they seemed to be glossing over the fact that the distance between seats is being reduced by an inch, and the new seats will recline back only 2 inches instead of 3.
The Southwest spokesman insists that that the thinner material on the new seats will make up for these losses, keeping “leg room” the same or better. I remain skeptical.
But I’ve also decided that Southwest – having posted its 39th straight annual profit in an industry in which much of its major competition has ended up in bankruptcy – has proven it knows how to keep customers happy enough. Even as ticket prices have gone up, according to the AP report: “The average passenger on Southwest paid a fare of $140.18 in the fourth quarter, a 7 percent increase from a year earlier.”
Maybe I should trust that they know what they’re doing.
