Southwest Airlines will remove open seating, introduce red-eye flights

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- For the first time in history, Southwest Airlines will ditch its open seating policy in favor of a more traditional boarding process.

With the switch to assigned seating, the airline says they will "offer premium seating options to meet evolving customer preferences and increase revenue opportunities".

Southwest will redesign the configurations of their planes to accommodate the premium seating, which includes extra legroom.

The introduction of overnight, or red-eye, flights allows the airline to increase efficiency by operating 24 hours a day like its competitors.

These changes come after a quarterly financial review in April where the airline studied product preferences and expectations, leading to these changes geared towards meeting customer demand. In addition, the airline anticipates the new model will "produce additional revenue and strengthen financial performance".

More details on the comprehensive plan will be released during its Investor Day in late September.