Southwest Considering Deep Cleaning Only for Premium Seats
Southwest Airlines is reportedly testing a new cleaning policy. Bring in cabin cleaners between flights to deep clean premium extra legroom seats. Coach cabins wouldn't get the same treatment.
Passengers are furious. Social media exploded with complaints about the potential two-tier cleaning system.
A Southwest spokesperson said that flight attendants currently tidy every aircraft between flights and that will continue. The additional cleaners would "supplement — not replace" standard cleaning efforts at certain airports when needed.
"We will continue to make sure our aircraft are ready for every customer, regardless of where their seats are on the plane," the spokesperson said.
What the Union Says
An airline flight attendants union board member posted a video for crew members expressing concerns about the experiment. The video was later deleted.
He reportedly got a memo from Southwest Tuesday about the new cleaning test. He compared it to upper class passengers on the Titanic "having cigars and sipping brandy" while passengers below didn't get their seats cleaned.
"So up front, you've got these super clean airplanes. In the back, you've got half-hearted, tidied airplanes," he said according to the blog "View from the Wing." "The passengers are going to come on board. They're going to see it. When passengers see what's going on, they're going to be very upset."
Passenger Reactions
Southwest passengers took to X and Facebook to complain.
"Southwest Airlines only gonna clean your seat if it smells like money," wrote one angry X user. "The rest of you peasants can sit in the germ-infested filth left behind by the rest of the poor people."
"Southwest Airlines has turned into public transit. Dirty and expensive," another person said.
Facebook users had different takes. Some said passengers should clean up after themselves.
"Bring your own wipes if you really want a clean seat," one person said. "People need to stop leaving a mess for the flight attendants to clean up."
Another agreed, saying "I don't ever trust anyone to clean my seat the way I want anyway. I always carry wipes to wipe everything down right as I sit down."
One Facebook user pointed out current cleaning isn't great anyway. "They pick up loose trash and lay the seat belts in the seats. I've sat down plenty of times with snack crumbs all around my feet."
What an Etiquette Expert Says
Jacqueline Whitmore, an etiquette expert in Florida who worked as a flight attendant for years, said every passenger should clean up after themselves regardless of whether cleaning crews come through.
"As a passenger, you should pack your manners, and you should clean up your surrounding area," she said.
Whitmore said it's generally flight attendants' job to collect garbage throughout the flight, not a cleaning crew's responsibility.
"I used to see this all the time," she said. "Passengers would change their baby's diaper on the seat. Then they might leave a dirty diaper on the seat."
She thinks the policy would affect flight attendants more than passengers. "After everybody deplanes the flight, attendants will go through the cabin with one final sweep. Personally, I'd be more upset if I were a flight attendant, not a passenger."
Southwest's Recent Changes
This is the second time in a week Southwest has taken heat from passengers. The airline transitioned from open seating to assigned seats on January 27. Passengers complained they have issues reading seat numbers, run into snags with boarding flow, and can't spread out on planes anymore.
The Bottom Line
Southwest is testing a policy where premium seats get deep cleaned between flights but coach doesn't. Flight attendants already tidy every aircraft. This would be additional cleaning for premium sections only at certain airports.
The optics are terrible. Premium passengers get special cleaning treatment. Coach passengers get whatever standard tidying flight attendants have time for between flights.
Whether the test becomes permanent policy depends on how it goes and what passenger reaction looks like. But social media reaction suggests people aren't happy about premium passengers getting cleaner seats while coach gets crumbs on the floor.
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