Southwest Airlines flight attendants are ceasing duty earlier than before, but why?

DALLAS Southwest Airlines (WN) will implement new procedures starting December 4 to improve cabin crew safety during landings.

Flight attendants will now secure the cabin and sit earlier and begin preparations as the plane descends to 18,000 feet instead of 10,000 feet.

Southwest is ending service early

According to an internal memo viewed by View from the wingThis change reflects the airline’s commitment to minimizing injuries to flight attendants. The decision is the result of extensive research and collaboration between Inflight Safety, the TWU 556 Health and Safety Committee and company leadership, including insights shared by Steve Murtoff and Lee Kinnebrew, VP of Flight Operations, in a recent Leader Update.

Key procedural updates include:

• Pilots announce the start of the descent phase with a public address (PA) at the top of the descent.
• At an altitude of 18,000 feet, pilots sound a high-low chime to signal the start of sterile flight deck procedures. This notice instructs flight attendants to secure the cabin for landing and to take their jump seats.

Years of analysis, including feedback from flight attendants and data from the Flight Data Analysis Program (FDAP), confirmed that earlier seating could reduce injuries by at least 20%. The adjustment is in line with the airline’s Safety Management System (SMS) and the company’s safety objectives.

Southwest Airlines will monitor the effectiveness of these changes and provide periodic updates. If the intended safety improvements are not achieved, the airline undertakes to examine further solutions.

To reduce injuries during flight

The “Please prepare to land” announcement now occurs 8,000 feet earlier, during descent at 18,000 feet, instead of 10,000 feet as before.

This change means passengers will experience earlier adjustments to onboard operations, including:

• Cabin service ends earlier.
• Beverage pickup starts earlier.
• The seats must be placed in their upright and locked position sooner.
• Carry-on luggage and personal items that need to be stowed away earlier.

Southwest predicts a 20% reduction in flight attendant injuries with this adjustment, based on extensive data analysis and safety feedback. However, this forecast reflects improvements from a relatively small baseline and may not take into account higher-risk safety concerns such as passenger aggression or unexpected turbulence.

Other airlines such as United have also required earlier laptop storage, reflecting a broader trend in operational adjustments to prioritize security at no additional cost.

In contrast to such changes, addressing gate staffing levels — such as hiring at least two agents to screen passengers for problems like poisoning — may require more investment but could improve overall safety.

For passengers on Southwest, the impact on productivity is likely to be less pronounced due to the airline’s slower in-flight Wi-Fi speeds, which lag well behind industry leaders. Only providers like Frontier and Allegiant, which have no WiFi at all, are worse off when it comes to connectivity.

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