Southwest’s new seat design — reviews ‘backfire’
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(WJW) – Earlier this month, Southwest Airlines unveiled new seat designs set to debut early next year.
In a press release, Southwest said the design is “based on extensive research.”
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The airlines describes the seats will have a multi-adjustable headrest cushion “for enhanced head and neck support” as well as a design that provides “ultimate comfort while maximizing seat width and overall support.” The upgrades also will include a personal electronic device holder.
The airline provided this photo:
Southwest also posted a video to their TikTok page with a caption that read: “You can catch this interior on new aircraft deliveries beginning next year. Not to mention our ongoing rollout of adding bigger overhead bins and in-seat power ports to our current planes!”
The video has more than 15,000 comments and many offer harsh reviews.
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One TikTok viewer commented: “What I’m seeing is rockhard seats.”
Another wrote: “The best Delta ad I’ve seen 👏”
And, another: “I’ll walk, thanks.”
One commenter noted that Southwest’s promotional efforts ‘completely backfired 🤣.’
But, there were some supporters within the lengthy scroll of negative reviews.
One wrote: “Y’all go ahead and keep complaining, I’ll be here with my 2 free checked bags sitting wherever my heart desires knowing I only paid $89 for a flight.”
FOX 8 reached out to Southwest Airlines for a response to the critical reviews. Here is what a spokesperson said:
“The new RECARO seats maintain the average seat width and pitch on Southwest Boeing 737 MAX 8 and -800 aircraft, and exceed the width currently available on the -700 series aircraft. We partnered with RECARO to redesign the armrest on their original seat to preserve the width offered on seats onboard Southwest. We collaborated with RECARO to custom-develop a more ergonomic cushion by using different foam technologies and densities, and adding more padding to certain areas of the headrest, backrest, and bottom cushion. The seat material selected for these new seats is not only softer to the touch, but better showcases the foam technology.
Southwest conducted multiple rounds of comfort testing with hundreds of participants, and we’re confident in the comfort and reliability these seats provide. After testing, Southwest continued to leverage RECARO’s expertise in developing long-haul premium economy seats in the international market and translated those learnings and enhancements to make a custom seat unique to Southwest.”
-Southwest Spokesperson
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