Southwest Airlines today introduced a new sleek cabin experience to enhance Customer comfort, improve fleet efficiency, and give back to the environment.
Inspired by Southwest's past with a nod to the airline's future, the cabin refresh features recyclable carpet, a brighter color-scheme, and a more durable, eco-friendly, and comfortable low-profile seat that weighs less than the current seat.
The new interior design also provides the unique opportunity of greater revenue potential by increasing the number of seats onboard from 137 to 143, without sacrificing Customer comfort and personal space but, at the same time, increasing under-seat room for carryon luggage.
Southwest will begin retrofitting its current fleet of 372 Boeing -700s with the Evolve interior in March 2012, anticipating completion in 2013, for a total estimated cost of approximately $60 million.
With a continued focus on Customer comfort, Evolve: The New Southwest Interior retrofit enhances the Customer Experience:
- Modern Cabin Design: The new design incorporates natural, earthy tones combined with Southwest's iconic Canyon blue and clean, aluminum accents for a more modern, fresh appeal. The redesign is inspired by Southwest's past with a nod to the future.
- Lighter and More Comfortable Seat: The redesigned low-profile seat is more durable, made of eco-friendly products, is lighter, and more comfortable.
- Increased Under-Seat Space: The new design allows for more under-seat room for carryon luggage and approved pet carriers.
- Customer Living Space: Reducing the recline from three inches to two inches preserves onboard personal living space while still allowing for ample seat adjustment for Customer comfort.
- Seatback pockets: The new netted seatback pockets are streamlined to provide more knee room.
- Headrest: The fixed-wing headrest provides better neck and head alignment with side-to-side support for sleeping.
- Improved Ergonomics: The combination of the low-profile cushion and fixed wing headrest improves ergonomics by positioning Customers "down and back" into the seat, allowing for better lumbar support, armrest alignment, and increased personal living space.
Over the decades, Southwest has been at the forefront of such efficiencies as paperless tickets, quick aircraft turnarounds, and the installation of winglets onboard its aircraft.The new cabin interior features these sustainable products:
- Seats: The new seats are constructed using eco-friendly products that offer more durability of the current seat, as well as a weight savings of nearly six pounds per seat. The improved durability of the redesigned seat coupled with fuel savings from 635 pounds less weight per aircraft is expected to result in more than $10 million in ongoing annual cost savings.
- Seat Cover: The new seats are made using E-Leather, an eco-friendly, lightweight, and scuff resistant alternative to traditional leather. E-Leather is made from natural leather fiber that is upgraded and combined with a high performance core utilizing eco-friendly technology.
- Seat Frame: By using the existing seat frames, we avoid spending an additional $50 million to refresh the cabin.
- Carpet: The new interior carpet is produced by InterfaceFLOR and will be applied in carpet squares, thus eliminating the need for total replacement of individual areas and reducing labor and material costs. The carpet is manufactured in a closed loop recycled process dedicated to being completely carbon neutral.
- Life Vest Pouch: The new pouch containing the life vest is more environmentally friendly, offering a weight savings of one pound per seat. The smaller pouch also creates more room under the seat for carryon items.
- Wind Screen: The new bulkhead product has a longer lifespan, thus reducing the labor costs and waste that result from more frequent replacements or repairs.
- Durable Recyclable Aluminum: By switching from plastic to a recyclable aluminum, we are increasing durability and reducing waste on the rub strips, tray table latches, and seat arm trim pieces.
