Can’t Get No Seatisfaction — Southwest Unveils Seating Plan

After 54 years of Southwest’s official seating policy of “sit wherever, good luck,” the end is nigh. This Tuesday, July 29 is when Southwest customers will be required to choose a seat at the time of booking, for flights beginning January 27.

“Our customers want more choice and greater control over their travel experience,” Southwest EVP Customer & Brand Tony Roach said in the carrier’s release about the new policy. Reportedly he made this statement while held at gunpoint at Elliot Investment Management’s HQ, holding a copy of today’s newspaper. He confirmed he and other senior leaders of Southwest receive three “substantial” meals per day, weekly access to shower facilities, and occasional outdoor time on the deck on top of headquarters.

The boarding process will include eight groups, because no elite member can feel truly special without knowing there are at least 5 or 6 groups behind them. Priority access will be granted to those who purchase extra legroom, A-list elite members, Rapid Rewards credit card holders, suckers customers who buy priority boarding, Elliott shareholders, social media influencers, that annoying guy from accounting who insisted on joining the trip, and your second cousin Joan.

The airline says this about offering choice and convenience for its customers, but let’s be honest: Southwest decided letting people fight over seats for free just isn’t nearly as lucrative as letting them pay for the privilege. So long, open seating. You were messy, unpredictable, occasionally delightful—and now, totally unmonetizable.

American AAchieves Record Revenue, Still Manages to Lower Expectations

American Airlines brought in a record-smashing $14.4 billion in Q2 revenue, which is impressive — until realizing it still only translated to $599 million in net profit — a number that screams “high score” but whispers “low margin.” Adjusted earnings came in at $0.95 per share, which beat expectations but not enough to make Wall Street do a cartwheel. Operating margin dipped to 8%, and weather disruptions spiked 36%, because of course they did, what better way to cap off a record revenue quarter than melting down your schedule?

Still, American wants you to focus on the shiny stuff: the AAdvantage program is thriving, with a 7% bump in members and credit card spending on the rise, because nothing says brand loyalty like 2x miles on airport Chili’s and Hudson News.

Free cash flow for the first half hit $2.5 billion, and liquidity is sitting pretty at $12 billion, so the airline’s not broke — just cautious even if it is keeping most of the $12 billion in a 10-gallon hat in Doug Parker’s basement. How cautious? They trimmed their full-year forecast to between –$0.20 and +$0.80 EPS, which is the financial equivalent of shrugging and saying “could go either way.” You know, just a totally normal vibe for an airline pulling record revenue.

Southwest Hits Turbulence in Q2 — Revenue Down, Hopes Packed in a Checked Bag

Southwest Airlines reported Q2 net income of $213 million ($0.39 per share), which would be respectable if not for the part where that’s down 42% from last year –and well below analyst expectations. Adjusted EPS came in at $0.43, missing the $0.51 consensus, and revenue slipped 1.5% to $7.24 billion, thanks to “soft domestic demand,” a phrase airlines use when they’d rather not admit that even loyal passengers draw the line at paying for Seatisfaction.

The airline slashed its full-year EBIT forecast from a confident $1.7 billion to a far less sexy $600–800 million. But don’t worry, shareholders — the carrier still found enough spare change in the seat cushions to approve a $2 billion stock buyback, because nothing says confidence in the business like using company cash to keep the stock price on life support. On the bright side, it says bag fees and Basic Economy are performing great (after a rough start), which is exactly what passengers wanted — paying more to enjoy less of what Southwest used to be known for. In its report, a bullet point from the carrier said the bag fees have had “no negative operational impact,” which shows that its newly-implemented “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy with frontline employees is working to plan.

Frontier’s Newest Frontier is Corpus Christi

Frontier Airlines is back on its favorite hobby: flinging spaghetti at the map and seeing what sticks. This time, it’s 15 new routes launching this fall, including a brand-new stop in Corpus Christi, which clearly drew the short straw in Frontier’s “Which City Gets Surprise Service This Quarter?” sweepstakes. The airline is also throwing new darts at places like Houston, Atlanta, and Vegas — all hubs already bursting with competition.

The move comes with all the usual trappings: $29 intro fares (on ATL-RIC only, otherwise it all begins at $39), “discount den” plugs, and a booking experience that charges you extra for thinking about legroom. Frontier’s route logic remains pure vibes — as always, the plan is to try everything, cancel half of it by February, and declare it a bold growth initiative. But hey, at least it’s consistent.

The full list of new frontiers:

• Atlanta: Omaha, Richmond (2x weekly)
• Chicago/Midway: Newark (2x weekly)
• Chicago/O’Hare: New York/JFK (4x weekly)
• Dallas/Fort Worth: El Paso (3x weekly), Charleston, Tucson (2x weekly)
• Denver: New York/JFK (3x weekly), Corpus Christi, Tulsa, and Richmond (2x weekly)
• Phoenix: San Antonio (3x weekly)
• Salt Lake City: Orange County (2x weekly)
• Tampa: Kansas City, St. Louis (1x weekly)

JetBlue Grows at FLL, Because Key Lime & Mint Don’t Pair Themselves

JetBlue is pushing its chips in the middle of the table on Fort Lauderdale this winter, launching four new year-round routes — to Norfolk, Tampa, Atlanta, and Austin — while also boosting frequencies across the map. Because more flights from Atlanta to Florida is exactly what the traveling public was missing. For those of you keeping score at home, Atlanta and Austin are actually returns for the carrier out of Fort Lauderdale, while Norfolk and Tampa are truly new routes.

In all, FLL will grow for JetBlue to 37 cities, with nearly 95 daily departures by December. Also on the menu: new Minty fresh premium service to Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Francisco, because nothing says “affordable luxury” like flying to a desert in a bed-seat from South Florida.

The airline is quick to point out it’s the only one offering true premium service from FLL, which feels like a subtle jab at Spirit, Southwest, and whatever Delta’s Comfort is trying to be. The move cements Fort Lauderdale as JetBlue’s “third pillar,” joining New York and Boston. MIA may have glitz, but JetBlue’s betting that South Florida travelers would rather skip the chaos and lie flat in peace. Bold move. Let’s see if Fort Lauderdale’s TSA lines got the memo.

• Air Arabia is launching a new Saudi LCC. Just what we need.
• Air Incheon plans to merge with Asiana this fall.
• Alaska is up and running again after spending much of Monday morning not.
• American will trial a new CBP arrival process for customers arriving in Dallas/Fort Worth on flights from London/LHR. The process seems more confusing than anything, but we’ll give it a chance.
• Azul received court approval for debtor-in-possession financing.
• BRA will better support and hold up its operation with a new crew base in Vienna.
• China Airlines is going to beat rival Starlux to Phoenix, launching 3x weekly service on December 3 that will attract local passengers by… <checks notes>… stopping in LA one way.
• Delta Flight 205 from Stockholm to New York/JFK on Tuesday was canceled when one of the pilots failed a breathalyzer test. PIA is reportedly interested in the pilot if Delta fires her over the incident.
• easyJet‘s return to Israel has been pushed to March 2026.
• Emirates is adding a third daily flight to Mauritius. Dublin too.
• Etihad took delivery of its first A321LR.
• euroAtlantic added its first A330-200.
• Garuda Indonesia is mulling an order of about 50 Boeing aircraft.
• Hubei International Cargo Airlines is the new cargo carrier you didn’t know you needed.
• Ryanair is having the summer it always dreamed of.
• SAS exited Star Alliance’s DOT immunity protection.
• Spirit decided bright colors is one thing missing from Key West, but it’s going to do something about that.
• Starlux loaded its new 3x weekly service to Phoenix, with flights beginning January 15.
• Thai will be back on Thailand’s stock exchange later this year.
• WestJet‘s newest interline partner is Kenya Airways.
• Wizz Air is headed to Spain from London.

I once saw Ozzy try yoga. It didn’t go well. The only pose he could hold was Downward Bat.