Southwest Airlines is ending open seating and will offer extra legroom seats on its airplanes as mounting pressure on the carrier to increase revenue prompts the biggest changes to its business model in its 53 years of flying. The airline plans to start selling the first flights that will offer extra legroom next year, it said Thursday. It also plans to begin overnight flights, starting in February. Southwest executives have said for years that they were studying such changes and hinted in April that the airline was seriously considering assigning seats and offering pricier seats with more legroom. The airline currently puts customers in one of three boarding groups and assigns a number, setting off a mad dash to check in a day before the flight. Customers can get earlier boarding though if they pay for a higher-priced ticket, they’ll get a better boarding slot. When travelers choose a competitor over Southwest,…
