Alaska Airlines seat configuration updates preparing to take flight [Video]

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTVF) – Alaska Airlines is planning to begin rolling out seating arrangement changes in more than 200 of its aircraft this September.

The changes will augment premium and first-class seating in its mainline fleet, with the expansion increasing annual premium seats by 1.3 million, according to a July 17 press release.

First-class availability in 59 Boeing 737-800s will go from 12 to 16 seats — putting in another row, in other words.

And premium seating in 79 of the Boeing 737-900ER planes and 80 of the Boeing 737-9 MAX aircraft will increase from 24 to 30 seats apiece, also the equivalent of another row.

Alaska Airlines said in the release that the updates respond to what they call a structural shift toward higher demand for premium products.

Premiumization, or the trend in which a company systematically enhances the quality and raises the price of consumer goods, has been …