Southwest Airlines seating change: New policy details [Video]

DALLAS — Southwest Airlines will move to assigned seating and also offer premium seating and redeye flights as part of a “strategic transformation,” the airline announced Thursday. 

Unassigned seating has long been a hallmark of the Dallas-based airline, but that model will change after the airline conducted consumer research and found that most customers preferred assigned seating, according to a press release from Southwest Airlines. 

Southwest will also offer a premium area of the cabin with additional legroom, the company said. The company said one-third of the seats across Southwest’s fleet will have extended legroom but did not offer a timeline for when the new seating policies will be implemented.

“We have been building purposefully to this change as part of a comprehensive upgrade to the Southwest experience as …