The Amazing Reason SWA Flight Attendants Are Preparing For Landing Earlier

If you're planning to fly on Southwest Airlines over the holiday season and it seems the cabin is prepared for landing earlier, you're not imagining it. The airline is implementing a new policy that asks flight attendants to wrap up service and be seated earlier during the plane's descent.

The travel website View From The Wing received an internal Southwest Airlines memo detailing new descent procedures that the airline will implement on Wednesday, December 4, 2024.

The new policy asks flight attendants to have the cabin secure for descent and for them to be seated and secured in their jumpseats at 18,000 feet. Currently, this procedure occurs at 10,000 feet.

The Paddle Your Own Canoe website says Southwest Airlines' inflight Safety team worked with the TWU 556 Health and Safety Committee to develop the new policy, which Southwest hopes will reduce flight attendant injuries by as much as 20%.

Why the change? Research. Data from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Joint Safety Analysis Team for Commercial Aviation found that many turbulence-related accidents occur during descent and that flight attendants accounted for 80% of severe injuries. Another data point is that 65% of turbulence-related accidents occurred below 20,000 feet.

So, how will this impact Southwest's customers? View From The Wing says cabin service will end earlier, beverages will be collected earlier, seats will have to be placed in their upright position earlier, and carry-on bags and personal items will need to be stowed earlier.

I'm okay with ending service earlier and getting things buttoned up for landing. While, yes, some who have a laptop out and may be trying to do some work may be inconvenienced, I don't see it being a big deal. With how close seats are these days, you really shouldn't be reclined, and after you finish with the pretzels and drain your complimentary water or soda, you're just sitting there waiting for them to come through to collect the trash. So, I'm not sure it changes all that much for many flyers.