Southwest Airlines is gearing up for some big changes over the next two years; an overhaul that the airline expects will bring great benefits to passengers.

Along with more red-eye flights and shift work to assigned seats After 50 years of open seating, Southwest is redesigning the interior cabins of its 800 existing aircraft.

“This is a very significant change. It could be one of the most significant changes we’ve ever seen,” Ryan Green, Southwest’s executive vice president of commercial transformation, told CBS News’ Kris Van Cleave, who recently got a sneak peek at the future cabins.

Southwest passengers will notice the difference, Van Cleave said of the redesign. Changes include new seat trays and device trays for all passengers in the cabin, as well as charging ports in all seats.

For an additional fee, first-class seats with 3 to 4 inches of extra legroom are also offered on renovated aircraft.

“Customers want all kinds of premiums, and when you fly longer, that extra legroom is worth a lot,” Southwest CEO Bob Jordan told CBS News.

Southwest says it will begin booking flights with assigned seats in the second half of 2025 for travel in the first half of 2026. That’s also when the airline expects the newly designed cabins to be available, pending approval by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Jordan and other Southwest executives outlined the airline’s renovation plans this week at an investor meeting in Dallas. The changes come as the company, long known for its loyal customers, looks to meet the changing needs of passengers and improve its bottom line.

Jordan said: “Consumer preferences have changed and the way we fly has changed.”

Kris Van Cleave contributed to this report.