Less Capacity: Why Southwest Airlines Reversed A $60 Million Decision Made 14 Years Ago

In 2012, Southwest Airlines made a very airline-industry choice to cram another row into its aircraft. The airline moved to thinner, lighter seats and gave up quite a bit of comfort as a result, with recline being trimmed and pitch being tightened slightly. This, however, allowed the airline to boost its Boeing 737-700s from having 137 seats to 143. Southwest put a price tag on that project back in the day as well, with the airline choosing to invest $60 million in these seats, a figure that was offset by an estimated $10 million a year in extra ticket revenue from those added seats. 14 years later, the carrier is choosing to undo this decision on purpose. As Southwest is now assigning seats and introducing an extra-legroom product, it has modified its 737-700 fleet by removing a row of seats.