http://www.airlinerworld.com 93half an inch wider than our old seats,
because with these new seat designs,
we were able to take them closer to the
cabin wall. That adds about a half-inch
more to all six seats across [a row].”
He notes that each seat has lumbar
support and an adjustable headrest, the
first time the airline has had that in its
aircraft. “Put all those things together
with the slimline seat and it feels like
one to two inches more of legroom
space. It is very, very comfortable to sit
in those seats. It really makes a differ-
ence in terms of the cabin experience.
“Since we’re talking about cabin
experience, we hire our people as much
for their personality as anything else,
and train them for the skills that they’ll
need. That really comes across in the
customer-facing positions – flight
attendants, call centre agents, our
customer service agents at the airport.
When you get on one of our aeroplanes,
it’s tangible how our cabin crews try to
connect with the customers. It can be
greeting them when they walk on, but
more so as they try to personalise their
safety messages. We’ve got a little bit of
a reputation because sometimes flight
attendants sing, sometimes they tell
jokes, which for me goes to show our
customers: ‘We’re just trying to
connect with you a little bit and have a
great cabin experience with you’.”
For years the idea of inflight entertain-
ment (IFE) and/or connectivity was
anathema to low-fare airlines.
Nowadays, they are no longer
considered “nice to have” facilities by
passengers and Southwest plans to
continue its strategy of having Wi-Fi
Another of Southwest’s
attractively liveried aircraft,
this one is painted in colours
of the Tennessee State flag.
AIRTEAMIMAGES.COM/
SIMON WILLSONThe carrier painted five of
its 737s in this Shamu livery
supporting its partnership
with Sea World, Texas.
However, the airline has
since severed its ties with
the theme park and the last
aircraft wearing the scheme
was repainted in 2014.
AIRTEAMIMAGES.COM/
MATHIEU POULIOT“Since we’re talking
about cabin experience,
we hire our people
as much for their
personality as anything
else...”
Mike van de Ven
Southwest Airlines COO