Bags Fly Free? Not Anymore!

[canyonwalker]

For a long time "Bags Fly Free!" has a slogan of Southwest Airlines. The airline differentiated itself from other US carriers with customer-friendly policies. They offered as easy ticket changes and refunds without harsh penalty fees years before other airlines adopted the same, and allowed all passengers two checked bags without fees for years after other airlines all moved to charging $50, $75, or more. As of today, that's no longer.



Southwest announced today that the "Bags Fly Free" era is over. They'll still give a free checked baggage allowance to elites and those flying on the most expensive ticket class. That's in line with other US carriers.

This is part of a broader effort to realign Southwest to be just like all the other US airlines. As I noted in December when Southwest announced a move to assigned seating it's nominally in the name of "competitiveness" but really it's removing key differentiators that helped Southwest compete with— and, for decades, be more profitable than— other carriers.

Oh, and along with this change, Southwest also announced a new, lower class of tickets. The old "Wanna Get Away" fare category is being replaced with "Basic". Similar to other carriers' Basic Economy tickets it comes with fewer conveniences than ever before. These tickets will not permit changes, standby, or transferable credits.

Comments

Elliott Investment Management

[ojuang.livejournal.com]

https://crankyflier.com/2025/03/11/the-day-southwest-died/

I agree with this guy, it's the result of SWA messing up profits and stock price since 2020, and then private equity "activist investors" come in and force some changes that will be short term profits and long term loss of customers.

I used to prefer SWA but after this change it will be based on price and schedule. I'm a casual flyer, only 3-5 trips a year, but I believe a large fraction of their customers will have the same preference.

Re: Elliott Investment Management

[canyonwalker]

Yeah, over on the frequent flyer community I participate in (FlyerTalk.com) we saw the risks months ago when Elliott got involved. The writing was on the wall with Southwest's announcement in December that they'd move to assigned seating. That's when they started to abandon the differentiated features that made them unique— and had helped give them the longest history of profitability among major US carriers. Now this change eliminates nearly every other differentiator.

Also, you and Crankyflier say "price and schedule"... but Southwest hasn't been a price leader for several years now. Other airlines routinely match or slightly beat Southwest's fares. That means all they've got going for them is schedule. And one or two really nice aspects of their elite status program... which, who knows, they could totally gut next at this point.

Price and Schedule

[ojuang.livejournal.com]

SWA not a price leader but depending on how far in advance the $49/69 fare sales were cheaper (without the baggage fee). Short notice (< 2 weeks)
is not a bargain anymore, and often more expensive.
So the no changes/standby on the cheapest far was a plus, but that is going away also. And I'm not A-list status, I only got that when they had the credit card spend for A-list deal.
So for me all that is left is the multiple flights per day to SoCal/LV, which is my typical destination.

[sorcyress]

Eyyyyyy that's disappointing. But I've been increasingly using Alaska, especially because the only trip I still regularly need to make by plane is my annual BOS - SMF route, and Alaska does okay for that.

Amtrak it is!

~Sor