For the first time since it was founded more than half a century ago, Southwest Airlines will assign seats — a shift that will allow the low-fare, no-frills company to meet evolving customer preferences and charge more money for premium seats.

The Dallas-based airline also will start to offer overnight, red-eye flights, starting on Valentine’s Day 2025, in five markets, including Los Angeles, Baltimore and Nashville.

Southwest had for years touted its model of open seating as the “ultimate expression of its founding ethos: to make air travel affordable and accessible for everyone.”

“You can sit anywhere you want — just like at church,” flight attendants told passengers.

But Southwest said it had listened to customers who sought more options, often desiring more comfortable, premium seats when they took longer flights. When customers decided to switch to a competitor from Southwest, the airline said, their No. 1 complaint was dissatisfaction with open seating.

“The research is clear and indicates that 80% of Southwest customers, and 86% of potential customers, prefer an assigned seat,” the airline said in a statement. “By moving to an assigned seating model, Southwest expects to broaden its appeal and attract more flying from its current and future customers.”

Currently, Southwest passengers are grouped into boarding positions based on the order of check-in, with some exceptions. This means those who check in for their flight early are rewarded by being able to get on the plane — and snag a preferred seat — before other passengers.

It’s a practice that many budget-conscious, but still comfort-inclined Southwest fliers appreciated.

In 2006, the airline abandoned a plan to assign seats after a trial run and customer surveys revealed that travelers preferred open seating. Keeping open seating was also more efficient. Assigned seating increased boarding time by one to four minutes, the airline said at the time.

The change will enable the company to make more for premium seats. Southwest said it was working on an updated cabin design, with roughly one-third of seats offering extended legroom.

“Although our unique open seating model has been a part of Southwest Airlines since our inception, our thoughtful and extensive research makes it clear this is the right choice — at the right time — for our Customers, our People, and our Shareholders,” Bob Jordan, Southwest’s president, chief executive and vice chairman of the board, said in a statement.

Southwest did not specify when the seat changes will go into effect. Some Southwest fans took to social media to decry the move to assigned seats, saying that it was enough to make them abandon the budget-friendly brand. Others said they always hated having to hunt for an open seat.

But at Los Angeles International Airport on Thursday, many passengers seemed unfazed by the policy change.

Jim Kingsley navigated a luggage cart stacked high with bags for him and his family, having just arrived in Los Angeles after a long flight from Minneapolis.

It’s Southwest’s inexpensive checked bag policy, not seating, that has earned his business. “Otherwise we’d be carrying all these,” he joked.

Southwest, he said, seems safer and friendlier than other airlines. It doesn’t surprise customers with unexpected fees and offers flights at what Kingsley said is a good value for his family.

“As far as airlines go, Southwest has got it going on,” he said.

The company, long one of the nation’s most profitable airlines, has struggled financially in recent years. Costs — including wages, goods and maintenance — have risen across the airline industry in the years since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The problem for Southwest is that its revenue has been much slower to rise than for its competitors, said Edward Russell, a freelance transport and aviation writer.

“Airlines that offer premium products and large loyalty programs including American, United and Delta have done much better,” he said. “The changes we’re seeing from Southwest are basically an attempt to boost revenue to keep up with the rise in costs.”

Estimates from Wall Street analysts indicate that assigned seating could result in as much as $2 billion per year in additional revenue for the airline. This comes at a time when Southwest has been grappling with pressure from investors to boost revenue, Russell said.

On Thursday, Southwest reported that its profit in the second quarter of 2024 dropped more than 46% from a year earlier to $367 million.

“Our second-quarter performance was impacted by both external and internal factors and fell short of what we believe we are capable of delivering,” Jordan said.

“We are taking urgent and deliberate steps to mitigate near-term revenue challenges and implement longer-term transformational initiatives that are designed to drive meaningful top and bottom-line growth.”

It’s unlikely that the seating switch-up will dramatically raise prices for travelers, but those who want to sit at the front of the plane or enjoy the view at a window seat should expect to pay more as they do on other airlines, Russell said.

Tomi Muñoz and Steven Romero, who flew Southwest from Denver to Los Angeles for a vacation Thursday morning, said they’d like to see the airline maintain low ticket prices. The frequent travelers said they’ve never had an issue with the open seating policy.

“It depends on who you are as a traveler,” said Muñoz, 22, adding that anxious fliers might get some relief by knowing exactly where they’re going to be sitting on the plane.

But Muñoz and Romero don’t worry about that.

“We end up sitting with each other anyway,” Romero, 23, said.

Destinee Gary, 25, said Southwest’s current seating arrangement enables her to avoid loud groups or potentially disruptive children during the flight. Gary, who has flown only once before, prefers to scope out the situation on a plane before committing to a spot.

But she said an increase in ticket prices would be the real deal-breaker.

“If it costs more,” she asked, “then why not fly American?”

Wilshire Rodeo Plaza sits at one end of Rodeo Drive and its new owners are betting big the address on Beverly Hills’ iconic street will lure luxury retailers.

Justin and Tyler Mateen, along with their brother-in-law Pouya Abdi, paid more than $208 million for the property in a deal that closed earlier this week. They bought from investment firm Nuveen, which had owned it since 2006.

The property, which spans the 100 block of Rodeo Drive, includes an underground parking garage and four buildings with ground-floor retail space and office space on the upper floor. Although most of the office space is occupied by tenants that include Merrill Lynch and Bank of America, the brothers said in a joint interview Wednesday the purchase was driven by a plan to fill more of the space with high-end retail tenants.

“Most of the value in this property and the reason that we’re buying it is in that high-end retail,” Justin Mateen said. “There’s untapped potential in the building, and at the same time, there’s a tremendous amount of need from these luxury tenants.”

Their strategy underscores the strength of the retail real estate market in the greater Los Angeles area that boasts a roughly 94% occupancy rate, according to real estate firm Colliers. By comparison, office space, which has struggled to regain its footing following the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, is just 76% occupied.

In Beverly Hills, the vacancy rate for office space climbed from 20.6% in the first quarter of the year to 23.8% in the second quarter, according to Colliers.

Justin Mateen, who co-founded the dating app Tinder in 2012, said he and his brothers plan to nearly double the retail footprint of the complex by converting office space on the second story.

Conversations with potential tenants interested in moving to Wilshire Rodeo Plaza from spaces they currently occupy elsewhere on Rodeo Drive are ongoing, Tyler Mateen said. He said he believes the property is appealing because of its parking garage and the relative privacy it offers from gawking tourists, he said.

“What we’re seeing is luxury tenants are moving,” Justin said. “They want a larger footprint, so that’s our focus.”

The complex currently houses only one retailer, designer brand Vera Wang.

The brothers said they plan to rebrand the property as “One Rodeo” and to give it a facelift, focusing on the buildings along Wilshire Boulevard and Rodeo Drive.

“It’s a little out of date,” Abdi said. “We do plan on upgrading the facades of the buildings to really continue the look and feel of Rodeo Drive.”

Famous for its uninterrupted string of luxury stores like Chanel and Balenciaga that draw wealthy shoppers, tourists and paparazzi-hunting celebrities, Rodeo Drive is Beverly Hills’ defining attraction.

The sale of the property was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

The new owners said they’re also looking into ways to use the property’s rooftop space, which is currently undeveloped.

People have pitched them on restaurants and members-only social clubs, Tyler said. And they toyed with the idea of a hotel on part of the upper floor, but dismissed it, Abdi said.

“It’s a family project,” Justin said. “We plan to keep it forever, so we’re spending money to really take it to its full potential.”

A coalition of unions representing drivers, mechanics, location managers, electricians and other Hollywood crew members has struck tentative contract deals with the major studios — closing out a long, turbulent chapter of labor activity in the film and TV industry.

As of late Saturday night, the Hollywood Basic Crafts and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers have reached agreements on six different contracts. The settlements concluded several weeks of negotiations that became notably tense following a less contentious contract campaign led by fellow crew members union IATSE.

“After a long last 48 hours, we are proud to report that ALL Hollywood Basic Crafts Locals have reached a tentative agreement with the AMPTP late this evening,” Hollywood Basic Crafts spokesperson Amy Gorton said in a statement.

“The basic crafts spent today working closely with our member-led negotiating committees to finalize a deal with the AMPTP that we can now say is being unanimously recommended by our member-led bargaining committees.”

The six new contracts bargained by the Hollywood Basic Crafts include the Teamsters Local 399 Black Book Agreement covering drivers, dispatchers, transportation administrators, animal trainers, wranglers and mechanics; the Teamsters Local 399 Location Manager Agreement covering location managers, assistant location managers and key assistant location managers; the LiUNA! Local 724 Basic Agreement covering laborers; IBEW Local 40 Basic Agreement covering electricians; the OPCMIA Local 755 Basic Agreement covering plasterers; and the UA Local 78 Basic Agreement covering plumbers.

They include terms related to pay, pension and health benefits, streaming residuals, artificial intelligence and autonomous vehicles.

The old agreements — covering a total of roughly 7,600 below-the-line workers — were set to expire July 31.

While bargaining with the AMPTP over the past several weeks, Hollywood Basic Crafts leaders repeatedly called out the entertainment companies for allegedly dragging their feet at the bargaining table and failing to adequately address key issues affecting crew members.

The heated tone of the negotiations was a marked shift from IATSE’s contract campaign, which transpired largely without incident and culminated in a deal covering some 50,000 craftspeople primarily based in Los Angeles. IATSE members ratified the new Hollywood Basic Agreement earlier this month.

The final week of the Hollywood Basic Crafts campaign saw several other entertainment unions — including IATSE, the American Federation of Musicians, the Writers Guild of America, the Directors Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild — issue a joint statement pressuring the AMPTP “to respect their workforce and make meaningful moves at the negotiating table.”

“As their contract deadline of July 31st quickly approaches, the clock is ticking on the AMPTP to address the unique needs of the various classifications within these unions,” the statement read.

“Our guilds and unions stand strongly united behind the Teamsters and Hollywood Basic Crafts until they gain the compensation and working conditions they deserve.”

On Friday, the AMPTP came to the bargaining table with what it deemed its “last, best and final” offer, the union said. The Hollywood Basic Crafts said it rejected that proposal and presented the studios with a counteroffer it felt strongly about.

“These aren’t just proposals on a piece of paper to our members. These are meaningful terms and conditions that impact their livelihoods,” Lindsay Dougherty, principal officer of Teamsters Local 399 and chairperson of the Hollywood Basic Crafts, said Saturday in a statement.

“We think our response to the producer’s package is reasonable and would be a deal that gets this over the finish line.”

Throughout negotiations, Hollywood Basic Crafts leaders maintained that they were not looking to call a strike but cautioned that they were not interested in extending talks past the contracts’ expiration date.

Fears of a potential crew member walkout peaked in the immediate aftermath of the writers’ and actors’ strikes, which rendered thousands of entertainment workers jobless for about six months. Even since the work stoppages lifted, many remain unemployed due to an ongoing industry contraction that predates the labor disputes.

Concerns of a third strike began to dissipate, though, once the IATSE contracts started falling into place.