Jaunted

The first planes to get the new interior will be their Boeing 737-700s, and it's a change so significant they've even altered how the planes are known internally. In the past these planes were referred to as "73G" in technical schedules and that sort of thing, but now these newly refreshed planes will be 73W—just FYI. Anyway, about 10 of the new jets will start flying at the beginning of April, and after that the plan is to add more and more planes each week. They really plan on zipping along with the airplane refurbishments and upgrades, as Southwest Airlines expects to have around 100 of the better birds flying by the time June rolls around.

Even bigger news is that Southwest is also getting some brand new Boeing 737-800s, and these planes are coming equipped that with fancy Boeing Sky Interior package. That means an airier feeling aboard the plane, as well as some modified overhead storage to fit more of your crap that just has to come along. There’s also mood lighting and larger window treatments to make your flight between Baltimore and Chicago-Midway just that much more fun.

April 11 is the date that we’ll see these planes added to the mix, but that’s just the beginning of the news about these jets. Southwest was quick to tease that there will be more news about the planes’ capability of long-range overwater flights—we wonder where they’re going to go?

New planes and new seats are pretty exciting, so Southwest is psyched for 2012. If you want to join them in celebrating you can always book your way onto their very first updated 737-800 flight. The plan is to fly the first new plane as Flight #1717 between Chicago-Midway and Ft. Lauderdale on April 11.

[Photo: BriYYZ]