Southwest Plans to Retrofit All Jets by January

Southwest expects to retrofit the interiors of more than 800 aircraft over eight months. These modifications are expected to begin on May 1.

Ryan Ewing

Wednesday, April 09, 2025 at 09:07 AM ET

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Ryan Ewing

Refreshed interiors on Southwest aircraft (Photo: Southwest Airlines)

Key Takeaways:

Southwest expects to retrofit the interiors of more than 800 aircraft over eight months. These modifications are expected to begin on May 1.

According to an Aviation Week report, Landon Nitschke, senior vice president of technical operations at the carrier, said teams will work on seven to 10 Boeing 737 aircraft each night. These retrofits will take place at Southwest maintenance facilities in Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Denver, Atlanta, and Orlando, Florida.

In July, the Dallas-based airline announced plans to add extra-legroom seating to its fleet, alongside a pivot to assigned seating. These cabin upgrades include new Recaro-designed seats and larger overhead bins.

The airline plans to complete the retrofits by Dec. 31, Nitschke added.

Ryan Ewing

Ryan founded AirlineGeeks.com in February 2013 and has spent more than a decade covering the airline business. His work has been featured by CNN, WJLA, CNET, and Business Insider. His aviation experience spans airport operations, Part 135 regulatory compliance, and airline crew workforce planning, along with time behind the yoke of a Cessna 172 and interviews with airline executives. Ryan now serves as Group President of Firecrown Media’s Aviation Group. He holds a B.S. in Air Transportation Management and an MBA from Arizona State University and teaches Airline Management at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.