It’s officially the end of an era for Southwest Airlines, as the Dallas-based carrier will finally do what it has insisted for so long that it wouldn’t even consider. This is only one of several changes, as the airline is also introducing basic economy fares, and is introducing new restrictions on flight credits.
In this post:
Southwest cuts two free checked bags policy
Southwest has long been known for offering two free checked bags to all passengers, regardless of the fare they book. Arguably this has been the single biggest way that Southwest has differentiated itself from the competition, and the airline has heavily marketed its “Bags Fly Free” policy.
For so long, Southwest executives have insisted that this is the one policy that they weren’t willing to change. They claimed to have crunched the numbers, and to have determined that the ticket revenue lost from charging for checked bags would exceed the ancillary revenue from charging for checked bags. I guess there has been a change of heart, because that will no longer be the case.
For tickets booked as of May 28, 2025, Southwest will change its checked bag policy:
- Southwest will continue to offer two free checked bags to Rapid Rewards A-List Preferred members, and customers traveling on Business Select fares
- Southwest will offer one free checked bag to Rapid Rewards A-List members, and those with a Rapid Rewards credit card will receive a credit for one free checked bag
- Customers who don’t qualify for these benefits will be charged for both a first and second checked bag
At least as of now, carry-on bags will continue to be complimentary for all passengers. This latest change follows Southwest recently greatly cutting points earning on its Wanna Get Away fares, which was almost a way of indirectly creating a basic economy product.
Here’s how Southwest CEO Bob Jordan describes this development (it’s clear that at this point he’ll say whatever he needs to in order to keep his job):
“We have tremendous opportunity to meet current and future Customer needs, attract new Customer segments we don’t compete for today, and return to the levels of profitability that both we and our Shareholders expect. We will do all this while remaining focused on what’s made us strong — our People and the authentic, friendly, and award-winning Customer Service only they can provide.”
Is this a smart move, or will it backfire horribly?
We know that Southwest has been under major pressure to improve profitability, given the activist investor the company has, in the form of Elliott Investment Management. Elliott has been able to get five board seats, and has pushed for… well, just about everything, to change.
Under pressure from Elliott, Southwest has done everything from announcing plans for assigned and extra legroom seating, to laying off employees for the first time in its history, and much more. Now, admittedly Southwest was probably a bit too stuck in its ways, and should’ve evolved earlier. That being said, is changing virtually everything about the company, and making it just like the competition, the right move?
If you align Southwest with the rest of the industry, you’re left with an airline that has a massive domestic route network, and great scale. However, the airline has high labor costs, still doesn’t have a real premium product, and doesn’t operate long haul flights, so that’s a major disadvantage compared to carriers like Delta and United. Furthermore, the carrier’s checked bag policy was one of the reasons the airline could schedule flights so efficiently, and operate quick turns.
The timing of this is interesting, given that Delta has just sounded the alarm on falling revenue and yields, claiming that economic uncertainty is impacting domestic demand, particularly in economy. So one would think this might not be the time for Southwest to completely change its business model.
Now that we’ve seen the extent of the changes, I think this also explains why Ryan Green, Southwest’s Chief Transformation Officer, recently resigned. He was the one who insisted that charging for checked bags would be bad for Southwest’s bottom line, and clearly he wasn’t okay signing off on that. Meanwhile Bob Jordan…
The gloves are finally off. Elliott has basically gotten its way, turning Southwest into the competition. Will this be a boom to Southwest’s bottom line, or the worst mistake the company ever made? I think this will be the ultimate test of whether an inclusive business model and customer friendly policies pay off, or if the race to the bottom is the only way to go…
Bottom line
For tickets booked as of May 28, 2025, Southwest will no longer offer free checked bags on all fares. Those on the most expensive fares and top tier elites will still get two free checked bags, lower tier elites and credit card holders will get one free checked bag, and others will get no free checked bags.
Southwest executives insisted for so long that the two free checked bag policy was there to stay, so this is a major change for the airline and for passengers. Just about all aspects of the Southwest passenger experience are changing, and we’ll see what it means for the company’s bottom line.
How do you see this playing out for Southwest?
Sad to see this firm (refuse to call them “activist” - more parasitic) continue to gut SW. But we know their playbook:
- Extract more revenue from customers
- Layoffs
- Stock buybacks
- Spinoff profitable portions (the loyalty program? Then SW has to pay them cash for every award booking)
- Laden them with debt
- Declare bankruptcy
- Sell for parts
Sad to see this, but none of it is surprising. It’s the PE recipe for shareholders.
If they wanted to really be cutting edge and make passenger comfort a priority, free checked bags, charge for carry-ons that aren't personal items.
SWA is making a BIG mistake changing their luggage policies. The statement that they’ll gain new customers who agree with fees for checked or carry-on luggage will do the opposite. If SWA begins charging for purses & carry-on luggage, I’m done traveling with SWA. And, I’ll cancel my SWA Rewards credit card, which most years I charge enough to meet the 135,000 points for the companion pass status.
As someone based in HNL, this is a bigger reason not to fly WN on inter-island flights. The free baggage was the single biggest reason why I used WN even though the flights were less convenient vs. HA.
I'll prefer HA now based on their schedule and the fact I can get one free checked bag with my HA credit card. I don't have a need for a WN-branded card.
Well it's official you are now just another airline!!!!!! Good luck you'll need it!!!!!!
I don't really see much reason to fly Southwest anymore, tbh. the schedule was....inconvenient, tickets weirdly expensive (I was pricing a flight back to DC from Seattle in the summer and it was twice as expensive on Southwest as on Alaska), and the one time recently I wanted to fly with them, the route I wanted apparently wasn't available (Chicago to any DC airport). I don't fly often, but when I do, I usually check...
I don't really see much reason to fly Southwest anymore, tbh. the schedule was....inconvenient, tickets weirdly expensive (I was pricing a flight back to DC from Seattle in the summer and it was twice as expensive on Southwest as on Alaska), and the one time recently I wanted to fly with them, the route I wanted apparently wasn't available (Chicago to any DC airport). I don't fly often, but when I do, I usually check a bag because I'm away for a long research trip, and the free checked bag(s) was nice. But now, if nothing about them stands out in terms of offerings from AA/etc, why would I pick Southwest in particular?
and without loyalty to another airline or one of their credit cards, you will avoid bag charges on other airlines precisely how?
WN was subsidizing low fare leisure passengers for years. That had to end.
WN isn't necessarily better than other carriers but they will be on par for many people.
and there still will be free bags - either 1 or 2 - on higher level WN fares.
Part of what allowed WN to have such short turn times was their boarding process. People would show up at the gate on time (to claim their spot) and typically not have many bags (because they were free to check).
So will WN increase turn time? Or will they end up like B6 and AC in terms of on-time performance? (Prediction: the latter)
Short turn times are a thing of the past anyway. A 737 Max 8 is a much bigger plane than a 737-200 was. WN uses one jetbridge now vs stairs at both front and rear. And the final blow to short turn times is the 737 Max itself. The engines require a cool down period, I believe 45 mins is minimum turn time now. The 15 minute turn is long gone.
HELLO Allegiant and Spirit!
To paraphrase Roger Stering paraphrasing Sir Winston Churchill, "As my mother used to say, Southwest's options were dishonor or financial ruin. They chose dishonor, they might still get financial ruin."
The stockmarket has called the bluff of bloggers. $LUV up 8%!
It's the same group of investors circle jerking. In year when no one flies WN anymore they'll be down 25% and those investors will have moved on to a different industry, having learned nothing.
I'm curious what the thesis is from these changes? Clearly they're not entirely ignorant of the impact of these differentiators on Southwest historically. So you have to assume that if you give up core aspects of the Southwest experience (fast boarding, free bags, more 'inclusive' fares, etc.) that there are other inherent assets of the airline that will retain the customer base and continue allowing for growth.
Things like route network (direct routes that...
I'm curious what the thesis is from these changes? Clearly they're not entirely ignorant of the impact of these differentiators on Southwest historically. So you have to assume that if you give up core aspects of the Southwest experience (fast boarding, free bags, more 'inclusive' fares, etc.) that there are other inherent assets of the airline that will retain the customer base and continue allowing for growth.
Things like route network (direct routes that competitors don't fly) and strategic fortress hubs without significant competitor share. I just don't think Southwest has dominant positions at critical enough airports. Certainly second/third tier cities (places like Nashville, Sacramento, etc.) but they're at parity or below in the largest US markets and I don't find them to be cheaper than big 3 when looking at options.
I fully agree. I’m the type of person that has always only flown Southwest if there was no other option (and considered it a step-up from Frontier/Spirit/Allegiant, who I will not fly unless it is an actual life of death scenario or the flight is like an hour long), but I understood who the Southwest customer was and who it was a good airline for (people who never fly anything but economy, do domestic short-hauls...
I fully agree. I’m the type of person that has always only flown Southwest if there was no other option (and considered it a step-up from Frontier/Spirit/Allegiant, who I will not fly unless it is an actual life of death scenario or the flight is like an hour long), but I understood who the Southwest customer was and who it was a good airline for (people who never fly anything but economy, do domestic short-hauls from second or third tier cities, people who live in California who want a cheaper way to fly from San Francisco to LA or from LA to Vegas) and the value prop was that you’d get free checked bags (even if it was just inclusive pricing), a more simplified boarding process (which combined with checked bags made it easier and faster to turn flights around), companion fares for credit card people, and good policies on flight credits.
Now they have taken all of that away (except the companion things I guess with the credit card but I don’t fly WN so I don’t know those details) and are going to be going head to head with airlines with better planes, better soft and hard products, better WiFi, better (or any) IFE, better positioning at major airports, and better loyalty programs with international partners. And the price was already the same for WN and United/Delta/AA on many routes.
So who, outside of people who live near a no-name airport that is only served by the LCC’s, would ever choose to pay the same money for a worse experience?
I think this is going to backfired significantly because although Delta has gone down hill over the years, if you want to charge Delta money, you better offer me Delta service. At least Alaska has the AA partnership, lounges, and an actual premium product (even if it isn’t that premium). At least JetBlue has Mint. What does Southwest have except for a way to fly into Birmingham instead of Atlanta?
They already have a huge problem with oversized carry-ons and older model 737’s that don’t accommodate standard carryons sideways in overhead bins to save space. They’d better start cracking-down hard at the gate on this one.
Looks like private equity just killed the proverbial milk cow for some quick beef.
The final World Trade Center Tower has just fallen down. Sad day for Southwest, Texas, and America. This is not going to be pretty when the cowpokes get thirsty.
As a consumer, I look at the total cost of flying, not just the ticket price. I have been using swa primarily because of the total cost to fly is lower than other airlines. Now it appears it doesn't matter which airlines I use.
You don't make sense or just another everyday hypocrite l.
Since you are looking at total cost of flying, airlines never matter to you regardless.
One of the only reasons I have flown Southwest almost exclusively for the last 15 years is their free checked bag policy. Their fares have also generally been reasonable compared to others. Now, I will always check the competition and if the fares are equivalent, I will take the flight that has the better schedule. I think Southwest is making a huge mistake eliminating one of the best differentiating features of any airline. Too bad...
One of the only reasons I have flown Southwest almost exclusively for the last 15 years is their free checked bag policy. Their fares have also generally been reasonable compared to others. Now, I will always check the competition and if the fares are equivalent, I will take the flight that has the better schedule. I think Southwest is making a huge mistake eliminating one of the best differentiating features of any airline. Too bad they’re listening to some organization that has bought five seats on their board of directors. How profitable do you need to be? How about thinking about customers first!
WN has a lot of baggage...well, no longer literally
SWA as run by DOGE aka Elliott Investment Group.
WN now holds absolutely zero preference in my flight search and consideration. I understand they need to do what they need to do however, I will basing my flight purchase on the lowest logical airfare. If WN does not beat it, I will choose the other carrier.
The literally ONLY advantage they have now is random point-to-point nonstop flights that the US3 don't. They can't compete on any other point anymore. Maybe the companion pass, but I expect to see that go away, too.
I totally get that it's a business and Southwest is doing what makes fiscal sense. But Southwest competes directly with American or United in most of their core hubs/markets (or both in Chicago and Baltimore/Washington!), less so Delta (I think really just Austin and Los Angeles come to mind). What exactly is Southwest's business proposition over United or American unless someone does a ton of spoke-to-spoke flying for business or leisure? Or unless the base...
I totally get that it's a business and Southwest is doing what makes fiscal sense. But Southwest competes directly with American or United in most of their core hubs/markets (or both in Chicago and Baltimore/Washington!), less so Delta (I think really just Austin and Los Angeles come to mind). What exactly is Southwest's business proposition over United or American unless someone does a ton of spoke-to-spoke flying for business or leisure? Or unless the base fares are going to be significantly lower than American/United as they either used to be or at least were perceived to be?
I'm just not sure "Southwest 2.0" has completely thought out what it is going to be and what will make it more successful.
Actually, there's an argument to be made that these changes DO NOT make fiscal sense. I read somewhere that Southwest has examined the idea of charging for bags, and they found that while it would take in $1.8b more revenue, they would also lose customers to about the same tune. So it's a wash. Given Southwest's branding ("bags always fly free"), it's just the height of stupid to lose that differentiation from the competition in...
Actually, there's an argument to be made that these changes DO NOT make fiscal sense. I read somewhere that Southwest has examined the idea of charging for bags, and they found that while it would take in $1.8b more revenue, they would also lose customers to about the same tune. So it's a wash. Given Southwest's branding ("bags always fly free"), it's just the height of stupid to lose that differentiation from the competition in favor of... no net increase in revenue or profit.
Even if they retract the fees with egg on their face, customers will say, "what part of 'always' don't you understand"? It's really hard to win back loyal customers after you've ticked them off.
It's amazing how WN basically stopped adapting years ago and is now really caught out. I was based in Denver for several years and United incrementally ate WN's lunch until there really was no comparison anymore. WN went from a no brainer for business/leisure travel to simply uncompetitive.
I live approximately 30 minutes from Daytona Beach, FL airport (Delta & American Airlines). I have been making the 1 1/2-hour drive to Orlando, FL to catch SWA flights. This is not to mention leaving my vehicle at a parking service in Orlando, FL usually another $100.00+ cost. It made sense to me to use a SWA CC until now. An extra hour of drive time, tolls, and then use a parking service doesn't make...
I live approximately 30 minutes from Daytona Beach, FL airport (Delta & American Airlines). I have been making the 1 1/2-hour drive to Orlando, FL to catch SWA flights. This is not to mention leaving my vehicle at a parking service in Orlando, FL usually another $100.00+ cost. It made sense to me to use a SWA CC until now. An extra hour of drive time, tolls, and then use a parking service doesn't make the Orlando, FL drive to catch a SWA flight much of a financial advantage if I am paying for luggage, and soon seats. I will be looking into a Delta CC now and just having someone drop me off at the much less congested Daytona Beach, FL airport.
SWA will become just like many other airlines and hope for little fall out with charging for luggage and seats in the second half of 2025, a double whammy to loyal customers. Too bad!
Southwest Airlines as you knew it: Dead. Cause of death; Elliott Investment
What WN now needs to do is make sure their checked bags fees are the lowest in the industry, and advertise the hell out of that. With other legacy carriers bumping up their fees WN can still win the argument by charging less than the competition.
Congratulations Southwest on being merged with... it's over for Southwest.
Why not change the name of the airline too? It's really not Southwest at all now but a legacy brand plopped into Love Field.
Any suggestions?
DOGEWest. Their motto: We cut because we care.
With no free bags what is the value proposition over Frontier or Spirit? And with no first class Southwest isn't going to get that more lucrative flyer.
A sad day when the former National Airline of Texas has totally lost its way.
with all due respect, both of the two Texas based big 4 are less profitable than those not based in Texas.
as much as some want to believe otherwise, the world does not revolve around Texas.
No respect is due.
Topic was never about outside Texas.
as much as some want to believe otherwise, the world does not revolve around Atlanta.
They didn't learn from jetblue. Free was the brand. Becoming just another airline killed jetblues fan base and will decimate southwest.
RIP
Elliot does not care about that
One challenge is the investor mindset at some of these firms. The whole activist and PE model often centers on applying a generic playbook derived from strong financial returns in other examples, to new companies. This sometimes works very effectively (and profitably).
In other cases, it does not work at all. Many of these investment executives are not looking to understand nuance or question their own approach so they apply it in broad swaths...
One challenge is the investor mindset at some of these firms. The whole activist and PE model often centers on applying a generic playbook derived from strong financial returns in other examples, to new companies. This sometimes works very effectively (and profitably).
In other cases, it does not work at all. Many of these investment executives are not looking to understand nuance or question their own approach so they apply it in broad swaths with the assumption that on average enough of the investments will be a high return to offset places it doesn't work. On the whole this logic does tend to work, though obviously the impacts on individual businesses can be devastating when it doesn't work.
I think today marks the end of Southwest. What makes Southwest great is their free check-in bags policies, friendly staffs, and great service. Now boarding will take forever like other airlines and I personally will not book any Southwest flights after check-in bag fees are introduced. It will be impossible for Southwest to turn their planes around in less than 60 minutes. Plenty of Southwest planes have the old bins too. Delays will be an...
I think today marks the end of Southwest. What makes Southwest great is their free check-in bags policies, friendly staffs, and great service. Now boarding will take forever like other airlines and I personally will not book any Southwest flights after check-in bag fees are introduced. It will be impossible for Southwest to turn their planes around in less than 60 minutes. Plenty of Southwest planes have the old bins too. Delays will be an issue. They better change their schedules too. They are just any major airlines now.
Hawaiian Airlines must be really happy now. Free check-in baggage is possibly the only reasons why some locals are willing to fly Southwest on those intra-hawaiian flights. Now, you have to pay baggage fee so they mind as well stick with Hawaiian with a better schedule and more choices of flights. I can't imagine Southwest's intra-Hawaiian flights will last too much longer now.
Elliott Management is just sad reflection on how Greedy Corporate Culture ruins the country. Every single good brand is ruined by these greedy corporations.
Today is a sad day in US Commercial Aviation. Herb must be flipping in his grave today. His beloved brand and airline is being run to the ground!
RIP WN
"Were Southwest’s customer friendly policies and good corporate culture to the company’s detriment,..."
I ask, what customer friendly policies did WN have left?!?!
- Open seating was a joke with sooo many "reserved" seats just in the "A" boarding group, those in Group "C" got the best seats!!
- Jesus Jetway had gotten totally out of hand; one wheel chair and a family of 12 in tow
- Most PAX have a...
"Were Southwest’s customer friendly policies and good corporate culture to the company’s detriment,..."
I ask, what customer friendly policies did WN have left?!?!
- Open seating was a joke with sooo many "reserved" seats just in the "A" boarding group, those in Group "C" got the best seats!!
- Jesus Jetway had gotten totally out of hand; one wheel chair and a family of 12 in tow
- Most PAX have a mindset of using carry-on as opposed to checked luggage anyway
- WN ticket prices were just as expensive as a legacy carriers (goodby Mr Peanut Fares, long time, no see)
- What Direct flights? From my airport, only one non-stop to all of southern Florida per day, rest bounce me via ATL, DAL, HOU, BWI, BNA, MDW, etc, etc, etc.
No, WN changed for the worse as time progressed, but failed to recognize it.
I feel no sorrow for the airline!!
Yup, let the other airlines collect over $5.5 billion in bag fees in 2024. Southwest should never change or adapt. But let's all get our panties in a bunch when they do.
They haven't even announced what the fee for a checked bag will be and people are already heading for the exits.
Oh honey. What is your title at Southwest?
I actually work for Elliott. And I approved all of these changes to make customers angry and want to fly Spirit.
Can assume fees in line with rest of industry or slightly less, my prediction is 25 to 30 bucks for first bag and more for international/mexico
Fully agree. While they're at it, I don't see why they don't start charging fees for personal items, carry-on space, bathroom access, the bag of pretzels and 2 oz of drink during snack service, the ability to check in on-line, etc. Now that I think about it, might as well make every item in an airplane experience a la carte because think about how much revenue that would bring in. Anything to help boost shareholder...
Fully agree. While they're at it, I don't see why they don't start charging fees for personal items, carry-on space, bathroom access, the bag of pretzels and 2 oz of drink during snack service, the ability to check in on-line, etc. Now that I think about it, might as well make every item in an airplane experience a la carte because think about how much revenue that would bring in. Anything to help boost shareholder profit since that's always the ultimate end goal and maybe a flight attendant's smile or two to pretend the Company is looking out for the customer!
Another significant announcement in this release: Flight credits will expire within 1 year for flights booked after May 28th. This is a significant departure from another major factor that gave Southwest a competitive advantage.
They should have kept the first bag free and started charging for the second bag. That way they could get extra revenue while staying somewhat on brand. When I initially saw this headline, that’s what I assumed they had done. Now charging for both completely destroys their branding.
WN will also no longer allow unused fare credits to last forever which will result in other airlines doing the same thing.
the end of "no change fees" will have a significant competitive impact
Flight credits on most other airlines already expire after a year
agree... this is my point. WN is simply no longer offering more than other airlines.
other airlines will pull back other change fee related items as well.
RIP southwest
I will occasionally fly WN for a short hop and one of the great advantages they have in my my over UA is they have managed to keep boarding times down as so many folks check bags. So much for that.
Should have made a fare class below WGA without the free checked bags and adjusted pricing accordingly for a similar outcome with better PR
I have nothing against Bob Jordan, per se. But it really is time for him to retire. It's become clear he's nothing more than a figurehead at this point.
If Southwest is truly going to make these changes, for better or worse, it needs to be done by a CEO and leadership team that hasn't been making the exact opposite case against checked bags for years.
Seems rather clear he doesn't have the trust...
I have nothing against Bob Jordan, per se. But it really is time for him to retire. It's become clear he's nothing more than a figurehead at this point.
If Southwest is truly going to make these changes, for better or worse, it needs to be done by a CEO and leadership team that hasn't been making the exact opposite case against checked bags for years.
Seems rather clear he doesn't have the trust of the Board of Directors and is just an implementer rather than a leader.
Yeah, not loving the changes over at WN, but if that’s what it takes (or what the PE folks actually in the room in Dallas say it takes) to keep them alive, I suppose I get it.
That said, has there been any rumor about potential bag pricing? I echo some of the other commenters, in that I don’t think Southwest can charge “street prices” for bags and still sell fares at their current...
Yeah, not loving the changes over at WN, but if that’s what it takes (or what the PE folks actually in the room in Dallas say it takes) to keep them alive, I suppose I get it.
That said, has there been any rumor about potential bag pricing? I echo some of the other commenters, in that I don’t think Southwest can charge “street prices” for bags and still sell fares at their current dollar value. I always looked at the fares as having the bag fees baked into them, but I also know airlines tend not to drop prices when they cut amenities
Welp, I’m done w Southwest … the bags was the thing for me. I’m not dealing with the other nonsense AND paying for bags.
Ciao!
Wow they must be crying at all the net revenue they’ll lose out from such a high value customer as yourself
Guess you're done flying then? Is there anyone who doesn't charge for bags and doesn't have their own "nonsense"?
To be fair, other airlines weren't making the case that "free bags are here to stay"
there is literally no reason to fly them over anyone else. The free bags made them stand out from others. people flew them despite their crazy hunger games esque check in policy for the bags and sometimes cheap fares.
Investors rejoice!
What a victory for capitalism
This is the American system working as designed
The old Southwest was flailing and had no place in the twenty first century of commercial air travel
Everybody crying about this is an old geezer loser who never made equity partner and thus cries wanting everything for free, profit be damned
It was incredibly stupid of Southwest to squander the revenue from checked baggage for the last decade at a minimum
You're right.
The only problem is, like TWA, only a few people would actually rejoice and claim victory for capitalism.
Majority of the stakeholders will fall victim to capitalism.
You are in here spamming Southwest praise. What Southwest location do you work at?
Didn't they always say...bags fly free...always?
They haven’t been saying that in years and in any case it’s marketing fluff
As a public for profit company they always said they’ll do right by investors. Finally they are
And there went the last reason to choose WN over anyone else. Nice job, greedy Wall Street A-holes at Elliott (and the wussies in Southwest's C suite). Herb would puke if he saw how you destroyed his airline.
Greed is good
Herb sold his airline to public markets to operate for max profitability so he could get rich
Southwest also announced today that it will launch a Basic Economy product.
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/11/southwest-airlines-charge-checked-bags.html
What’s the point of flying southwest? Think about the last full day of your vacation when you fly on southwest vs another airline. You always have the minor inconvenience of checking in. In some instances, it can not fit what you are doing at all in that last full day of your trip. Getting a massage? Experiencing a culinary experience where the chef is in the middle of a hands on demonstration? Floating down a...
What’s the point of flying southwest? Think about the last full day of your vacation when you fly on southwest vs another airline. You always have the minor inconvenience of checking in. In some instances, it can not fit what you are doing at all in that last full day of your trip. Getting a massage? Experiencing a culinary experience where the chef is in the middle of a hands on demonstration? Floating down a lazy river with your wife? Experiencing a great hike with minimal reception? Snorkeling off the coast of Hawaii? Presenting to work colleagues? STOP! It’s time to check in for your southwest flight!
…or you could pay for the pleasure to check in on time and not do the c group walk of shame.
But this always seemed worth it because of the value our family found in getting all our checked bags for free.
Now, what exactly is the difference? Are their fares that much lower? Their planes that much nicer?
Just yesterday, onboard a southwest flight, I turned to my wife and said “I’m so tired of flying southwest.”
Little did I know! No more free checked bags!
The point of flying southwest is they might fly a route at a time and fare that works
So many travelers these days don’t check bags. Why force these travelers to subsidize others
No one is subsidizing anyone.
For a fake lawyer, could you at least fake that you have a brain.
Bag fees are just greedy cash grab.
Like resort fees.
Once you call it subsidy, you legitimize and justify this scheme.
Soon people will accept bogus resort fees like bag fees.
What's your job title at Southwest?
And if WIN (new code: RIP) has a better flight option as they offer a nonstop between two random places then they will continue to see business on those point-to-point routes, regardless of charging for checked bags. But if there is another option they are no longer any different from any other airline, and in some ways worse.
As for those who don't check bags subsidizing those who do, the airline benefitted from fewer...
And if WIN (new code: RIP) has a better flight option as they offer a nonstop between two random places then they will continue to see business on those point-to-point routes, regardless of charging for checked bags. But if there is another option they are no longer any different from any other airline, and in some ways worse.
As for those who don't check bags subsidizing those who do, the airline benefitted from fewer people doing carryon as they could load and unload the flights faster, and had less of an issue with needing to gate check. That's gone now. As others have predicted, I expect the turn around time for SWA flights to increase.
Well, considering every time I price check Southwest, their fares are higher, if not much higher than anyone else, it does make a difference. If it is true that many travelers are not checking bags, it's because they are trying to save a buck because the airlines want to nickel and dime you for everything they can (which people not checking bags seems not true because every time I fly, the luggage carrousels are packed with people).
This is going to bite them in the ass. There’s no point in flying them now.
An airline does not have an ass
Over/under on you being found in their middle seat when the fare is the cheapest by $1?
I read an article a few mins ago about this change on CNBC, and it stated that the claim about how Southwest would lose money by charging for bags was made in September by Ryan Green, their Chief Transformation Officer at the time.
According to the article, Southwest said last month that they had parted ways with Green.
Ryan Green sounds like a badass
For a really long time the free bags has been the differentiator between WN and the legacy carriers. Price nearly matches the legacies. The boarding process is a detractor for many. The Wanna Get Away earning changes were very bad but this will push a lot of people to the competition.
I just earned Comp Pass, we'll see if I have any loyalty left once that expires at the end of '26. I already...
For a really long time the free bags has been the differentiator between WN and the legacy carriers. Price nearly matches the legacies. The boarding process is a detractor for many. The Wanna Get Away earning changes were very bad but this will push a lot of people to the competition.
I just earned Comp Pass, we'll see if I have any loyalty left once that expires at the end of '26. I already had a foot out the door before this morning, now my other foot is on a banana peel...
I hope you buy organic and fair trade bananas.
Longer term, I get the change - but they should have introduced assigned seating first. Southwest fares aren't even that low in my experience. Now, you have to pay for bags while also not having a seat.
It doesn’t matter to me . With no true premium class , I won’t ever consider WN. Rather connect in premium class than fly nonstop in WN cattle class . And no , extra legroom seats or blocked middle seats won’t make any difference . Frontier even figured this out . WN , it appears , wants to compete with Allegiant and stay uncompetitive versus the full service carriers .
For the non premium...
It doesn’t matter to me . With no true premium class , I won’t ever consider WN. Rather connect in premium class than fly nonstop in WN cattle class . And no , extra legroom seats or blocked middle seats won’t make any difference . Frontier even figured this out . WN , it appears , wants to compete with Allegiant and stay uncompetitive versus the full service carriers .
For the non premium class traveler , the charge for checked bags will likely make them best fare shoppers and loyalty won’t matter . Just my 2 cents ….. worth a penny with inflation . :)
I've always wondered how many people who complained about WN not having first class actually pays and flies first class.
Well , I know of one - me - so I can only speak for myself . I pay for and fly premium class - my own money or my own miles . I don’t fly on “other people’s money .” It’s an area of my life that I choose to spoil myself and enjoy comfort .
I don’t care about airline meals , inflight entertainment, or free adult beverages. It’s all about space for me .
It doesn't have to be 'first class' though. A premium economy/eurobusiness type of product at a modest upcharge can be worth paying for on short haul. BA/IB have been doing that for years, and LATAM/GOL/AR have also adopted a similar approach.
Yeah nah, domestic US "premium" economy is a marketing gimmick more than anything else. Marginally more legroom and maybe one free alcoholic drink? I'd rather not pay a bag fee, especially since a lot of Southwest's routes are well under 3 hours. I'll probably still fly Southwest after these changes if the price is right (ATL origin, went to Salt Lake City for a long weekend ski trip last month for $450, Delta was over...
Yeah nah, domestic US "premium" economy is a marketing gimmick more than anything else. Marginally more legroom and maybe one free alcoholic drink? I'd rather not pay a bag fee, especially since a lot of Southwest's routes are well under 3 hours. I'll probably still fly Southwest after these changes if the price is right (ATL origin, went to Salt Lake City for a long weekend ski trip last month for $450, Delta was over $800) even if it does mean a connection instead of a direct flight, but paying $100-$200 more for Delta is just going to be far more attractive now.
@Eskimo: A lot. For instance, my company pays for Delta Comfort+ as it's our preferred airline. It's very nice to upgrade myself to F on my work flights. I never cared for WN aside from short hops where they're the only nonstop between non-hubs. So this doesn't really affect me much. But there are a lot of road warriors like me that DO choose for up-front seating.
The timing of WN's announcement couldn't come at a worse time w/ the commentary from DL and undoubtedly the rest of the industry about domestic weakness.
It simply did not make sense for WN to compete w/ ULCC fares by giving the best product in the industry.
WN's financial recovery will be much more difficult as they transition to looking just like every other airline - but w/o lounges and first class and a global...
The timing of WN's announcement couldn't come at a worse time w/ the commentary from DL and undoubtedly the rest of the industry about domestic weakness.
It simply did not make sense for WN to compete w/ ULCC fares by giving the best product in the industry.
WN's financial recovery will be much more difficult as they transition to looking just like every other airline - but w/o lounges and first class and a global loyalty program.
They still have a very strong balance sheet and will benefit from weakness w/ other carriers.
They also benefit from ignorant or not savvy travelers that still live under the impression that WN is always the cheapest. As if we're still in the 1980s/90s. They haven't been competitive on price in a decade-and-some-change. But a lot of inexperienced travelers tend to have zero awareness of how airline fares actually work. But WN can only rely on that ignorance for so long.
RIP Herb Kelleher.
Your legacy is officially dead.
They're shooting their own feet. Without free checked bags, there's no reason to recommend Southwest over competition.
Agreed. Perfect wording. They just shot themselves in the foot with this one.
Now, Southwest is just like any other carrier out there. That means they are competing directly with American, but they don't fly long-haul international, and they don't really have any global partnerships. That means that their loyalty program isn't as valuable as AA, so they won't have as much profit from that as the big US-3 airlines, which make up a bulk...
Agreed. Perfect wording. They just shot themselves in the foot with this one.
Now, Southwest is just like any other carrier out there. That means they are competing directly with American, but they don't fly long-haul international, and they don't really have any global partnerships. That means that their loyalty program isn't as valuable as AA, so they won't have as much profit from that as the big US-3 airlines, which make up a bulk of those airline's profits. Otherwise, Southwest historically made the most money from flying their planes. Noe their margins will be little to none just like any other US airlines that aren't Delta, American, or United. Their planes are basic, and the only thing they have going for them is their route network, linking a lot of non-hub cities nonstop unlike AA. They are basically a bigger Breeze Airways at this point.
However, at the moment (in my experience), Southwest charges much more for tickets in most markets compared to other airlines. They are typically the most expensive for coach, with AA, DL, and UA all offering cheaper tickets (and of course Spirit and Frontier). The only reason I ever booked those more expensive tickets with them was when I had a lot of luggage, which I believe is the same for many people. With checked luggage no longer free, I doubt they will sell any seats at these current price points, and they will likely have to discount tickets to attract customers. So will Southwest's bottom line really improve with this change? I highly doubt it.