The changes could take a year, but Austin and Sacramento need to be ready in a month

Southwest Airlines recently announced significant changes as part of its turnaround plan, with much buzz surrounding seating adjustments. However, thats not the only thing the airline is changing and anyone who counts on Southwest for travel might be in for a surprise or two the next time they head to the airport.

A key focus of the airline's new strategy lies in reducing aircraft turnaround times, an operational shift that aims to physically shorten the time it takes to turn an aircraft, rather than adjusting schedules alone.

Does that mean you need to be quicker to the gate? Not necessarily. It just means that Southwest is trying harder than ever to optimize everything it touches from the moment it lands and drops one group of passengers off to when it loads up a new bunch and heads off again.

One pleasant surprise is a revamp of Southwests baggage process, particularly for connecting flights. The airline has designed a new system that will allow ground crews to forecast the number of bags by generating reports the day before travel, based on the assumption that each passenger checks one bag. This system, in turn, helps ramp crews to load connecting bags last, making it easier to unload them first, thus speeding up the process.

Saving a tree or two, too

Since digital is king, Southwest thinks its time to ditch the pen and paper and join the revolution by pushing out necessary documents to its crews via tablets.

Sure this saves paper and all that, but the real benefit is that crews dont have to wait around for paper to be delivered, remarked Cranky Flier. They can see in real-time whats happening and dont lose time sitting around. This speeds things up again as most airlines have known for years."

All eyes forward

One change youll physically need to make on your next Southwest trip is to put your eyes and not your ears in charge of boarding announcements.

The airlineplans to speed up passenger movement through visual announcements displayed on screens around the gate area. These visual announcements are intended to simplify and clarify what boarding group youre in and get you to move a little more sprightly.

Cranky Flier adds that when it comes to seat assignments, there may be more coming than previously reported.

This one is kind of fun to think about. Southwest has said that with assigned seating, it will keep its boarding process in place. People will still line up and board when called. With assigned seating, however, Southwest can rethink the order of how it puts people onboard, Cranky Flier suggests.

It will keep let elites board first, of course, but once it comes to the regular people, Southwest can do whatever it wants. The best idea seems to be to let people board in different parts of the airplane at the same time. This creates less of a cluster and makes boarding go faster.

But the best part is that if this doesnt work, it can just rearrange how it boards people pretty easily. The seat number and the boarding number dont have to correlate, and that creates a real opportunity.

Are you experienced?

As we all know, jet bridges those enclosed passageways that connect an airport terminal gate to an airplane are dreadfully boring. Southwest thinks it may have an answer with a new concept dubbed The Jet Bridge Experience.

Here, Southwests plans are to speed up passenger movement through the jet bridge by installing speakers that play fast-paced music which may encourage passengers to pick up the pace.

Additionally, flight attendants will be able to make announcements directly in the jet bridge, notifying passengers of key information, such as when overhead bin space is full.

A new chat function will allow flight attendants, gate agentsand ground crew to communicate in real-time, reducing delays caused by miscommunication. In the event of full overhead bins, for example, gate agents will be notified right away to ensure that passengers do not bring oversized carry-on bags onboard.

Where and when

Cranky Flier says that we shouldnt expect these changes overnight or nationwide, but the folks in Austin and Sacramento need to pay attention because theyll be the first guinea pigs in its grand scheme.

Cranky Flier theorizes that the airline isnt putting it into the big hub cities until they get more of the infrastructure in place and are happy with how things are working, but Houston/Hobby could be the first airportto find itself next on the list in March.

In November, the schedule will gain the airline the equivalent of one extra airplane. But by the time the rollout is complete in November 2025, Southwest will have gained 16 airplanes worth of flying just from that small reduction in turn times, Cranky Flier concluded.