FILE – A general view of a redesigned seating layout inside a Southwest Airlines plane is shown during Investor Day at the companys headquarters on September 26, 2024 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Sam Hodde for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Southwest Airlines is making a change to its cabin service starting next month.
Beginning Dec. 4, a company spokesperson said cabin service will begin ending earlier on flights.
This means passengers will need to do the usual pre-landing procedures earlier than before. Pre-landing procedures can include fastening seatbelts and returning seats to an upright position.
Flight attendants will now begin preparing for landing at an altitude of 18,000 feet instead of 10,000 feet.
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The change in procedure is designed to “reduce the risk of in-flight turbulence injuries” for crew members and passengers, the company said.
While turbulence-related fatalities are quite rare, injuries do happen.
More than one-third of all airline incidents in the United States from 2009 through 2018 were related to turbulence, and most of them resulted in one or more serious injuries but no damage to the plane, the National Transportation Safety Board reported.
Southwest seating changes
Southwest also announced this year another major change to its operations.
Southwest has been known for its open boarding policy for more than half a century, and later in 2025, the airline will begin selling assigned seats.
The assigned seats will become available on flights in early 2026.
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Citing a Southwest survey, the Associated Press reported this fall that 80% of the airline’s customers want to know their seat before arriving at the airport instead of having to search for open seating when they board the plane. Southwest will now have four airfare tiers to accommodate passengers.
The Source: Information in this article was taken from The Associated Press, which received a statement and information from Southwest on the cabin service policy changes. Information about turbulence-related accidents was taken from the National Transportation safety Board. This story was reported from Detroit.
