Southwest Airlines announced that as of May 27, they will no longer offer two free checked bags and has plans to eradicate their open seating as well. With these changes, Southwest has stripped itself of the only things that made it stand out compared to other airlines.
“We made this change to return to the levels of profitability that we all expect,” said Southwest CEO Bob Jordan in a video statement.
Allow me to translate the CEO jargon: A man who made $9.3 million dollars in the 2023-2024 fiscal year hasn’t made enough money, so now your average flyer has to foot the bill.
The only thing that diversified Southwest within the airline industry is the very thing they are ejecting. Their bag policy was well loved by frequent flyers and yet they are abandoning the patrons and quite literally selling them for a quick dime.
It’s important to note that not everyone will have to pay for their two bags. If you are a “Business Select” passenger, you will still have your two free bags. You still pay extra to be in what is essentially Southwest’s version of business class, but the perks include priority seating, free all-access internet usage and now something that used to belong to everyone.
Other airlines like United and American have long since charged for bags, but in exchange, they’ve upgraded their planes to have nicer seats and provide a more elevated flying experience. But if that’s what I wanted out of a flight, I would have never flown Southwest in the first place.
Southwest has marketed itself as the “people’s airline,” so to speak, and they have now slighted the people they claim to be “family.”
As a painfully Type A person, I have never been a big fan of the open seating that Southwest offers. I’d rather have a set seat put aside for me before I board the plane but over the years, I’ve begun to understand the ease that comes with open seating. As a solo flyer, I just squeeze into the first open seat that I see, allowing me to escape from the plane faster. So, I can see why others like it, especially considering that they are the only airline with this policy.
There is a conversation to be had about the elimination of diversity within industries. Now, with the loss of Southwest’s bag policy and open seating, the airlines are nearly indistinguishable from each other. There is no incentive to be loyal to one airline or another because they are all the same.
With Southwest buckling under the corporate pressure to always make more and more money, who else is bound to fall to greed? The concept of a ‘freebie’ from any and all corporations could quickly become something that is only talked about in history books. This is something that has been going on for a while, with Apple slowly removing headphones and then charging cubes with the purchase of a new iPhone. What’s next on the chopping block?
That’s not to say that we, as consumers, are entitled to much. It’s a choice to consume and from whom we do. But, with the occasional free pair of headphones or luggage, you feel valued as a customer and it makes you want to continue. To have that taken away with the only explanation being that they weren’t making enough money
I fly – correction, flew – Southwest because of their bag policy. I flew Southwest because of the cheaper seats. I flew Southwest because I was willing to get a subpar experience for a subpar price. I’d like to fly Southwest again someday, once they realize that sometimes you must put the people above the money to continue to make that money.
