Woot: Southwest Airlines Finally Adding In-Seat Power

I'm sure many will appreciate the $2 billion investment Southwest Airlines has made in the passenger experience.

Southwest introducing power at every seat

Southwest Airlines plans to install power outlets at every seat. The Boeing MAX jets will have both outlets. There are no plans to install AC power outlets.

The first newly delivered jet will have power in early 2023, and the plan is for around 250 Boeing MAXs to have power by the end of the year. There are no plans to retrofit the classic Boeing fleet.

Southwest's decision to not have in-seat power is odd, and I am thrilled to see this. If it were 2012 it would be one thing, but it is now 2022, and airlines have come a long way.

• Southwest operates some long flights that are well over five hours (including transcon flights and flights to Hawaii)
• While Southwest focuses heavily on its core value proposition, it’s not an ultra low cost carrier; it’s odd to have no change fees, few ancillary fees, and even allow two free checked bags, all while not offering in-seat power
• Up until now Southwest hasn’t offered in-seat power or personal televisions but has offered Wi-Fi, so if you want passengers to stay entertained, it makes sense to at least let them charge their electronics
• It’s especially odd since Southwest has actively been taking delivery of new planes, so the decision to take delivery of planes in 2022 without power seems short-sighted; did the airline think that power outlets were a fad that was going to disappear?

The cost to install power at seats is negligible since American is doing it. I wish the airline were installing AC power outlets.

Southwest improving inflight Wi-Fi

Southwest is investing in inflight wi-fi and introducing power ports at every seat. Southwest is going to upgrade its existing fleet with new hardware that can provide a significant improvement in speed and bandwidth up to 10x what is currently available.

Plans are for 50 aircraft to have this latest generation of wi-fi by the end of May 2022, with a projected 350 by October 2022, so that's pretty exciting.

Some routes on the western mainland US are being tested for the upgraded equipment. Southwest is giving free wi-fi to all customers on select flights to understand how the upgraded equipment performs with a large number of users. Southwest might be trying to lead the way for other airlines by offering free wi-fi for everyone.

Southwest will be working with Viasat to provide high-speed wi-fi and live entertainment on newly delivered aircraft.

Bottom line

Southwest Airlines wants to improve its passenger experience. The airline will be installing power outlets at every seat in early 2023. Southwest has a lot of catching up to do, but not all planes will be retrofitted with this feature.

Southwest is updating its wi-fi offering on both new and existing aircraft. Roughly half of the fleet will have upgraded wi-fi by the fall.

What do you think about Southwest adding power outlets?