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Southwest Airlines will start charging for checked bags on tickets purchased on or after 5/28/25

Janann

Janann

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Why on earth do they want to make Southwest just another airline?? They are removing everything that made it special and built brand loyalty!! I have been a loyal SWA flyer forever- but that is about to change. They already offer the worst flight times 90% of the time- but I have always just accepted that due to the other customer friendly policies. Now that those are going- I guess I will be able to chose among all the airlines instead of being married to SWA. Such a damn shame.
 
Southwest has slowly eliminated all of the policies that gave them a competitive advantage. There is now really no reason to fly them unless they have more convenient non-stop flights. They don't even show up on most travel websites, so will profits will likely decline even more. The focus on increasing margins by cutting cost without concerns about customers usually leads to failure in the long term.
 
jwalk03 said:
Why on earth do they want to make Southwest just another airline?? They are removing everything that made it special and built brand loyalty!! I have been a loyal SWA flyer forever- but that is about to change. They already offer the worst flight times 90% of the time- but I have always just accepted that due to the other customer friendly policies. Now that those are going- I guess I will be able to chose among all the airlines instead of being married to SWA. Such a damn shame.
Click to expand...
How much competition is there on most routes if you want to fly non stop?
 
TolmiePeak said:
How much competition is there on most routes if you want to fly non stop?
Click to expand...
It depends on where you live. I'm in the Dallas area, which is a major hub for Southwest. I can fly plenty of places non-stop.
 
jwalk03 said:
Why on earth do they want to make Southwest just another airline?
Click to expand...
I hear you, but ... maybe the other airlines are more profitable and the CEO makes bigger bucks? The simple, short-term answer often works. Long-term?
maybe they couldn't get enough people to sign up for their CC, since "free bags" seems to be the big draw for the entry-level airline CCs.
maybe I have NO IDEA.
and as Tolmie said, competition is more about flight sched on specific routes for many routes
 
TolmiePeak said:
How much competition is there on most routes if you want to fly non stop?
Click to expand...

I can barely fly non-stop on SWA anymore. Ever since COVID they have drastically reduced their schedule and it seems what few non-stops they do offer are at the worst possible times.

I do have a non-stop booked to Phoenix next month for a work trip and SWA was the only non-stop option for that. But the other 7 flights I have booked currently all have layovers.
 
WaikikiFirst said:
I hear you, but ... maybe the other airlines are more profitable and the CEO makes bigger bucks? The simple, short-term answer often works. Long-term?
maybe they couldn't get enough people to sign up for their CC, since "free bags" seems to be the big draw for the entry-level airline CCs.
maybe I have NO IDEA.
and as Tolmie said, competition is more about flight sched on specific routes for many routes
Click to expand...

I want to see the actual free bag details on the card. I have the priority card which is their top one already, but will it just be 1 free bag for me?
What about my wife who is an Auth User- will she get one too?
Or my kids? If it gives me 1 free bag for each I suppose that's ok.
But if its just one for me that perk is not great.
Also do I get 1 free for being A-list and 1 free for the card? Or just 1-free total?

The devil is in the details which they conveniently did not provide.
 
jwalk03 said:
I can barely fly non-stop on SWA anymore. Ever since COVID they have drastically reduced their schedule and it seems what few non-stops they do offer are at the worst possible times.

I do have a non-stop booked to Phoenix next month for a work trip and SWA was the only non-stop option for that. But the other 7 flights I have booked currently all have layovers.
Click to expand...

I just checked the schedule from Dallas Love Field. The airline serves 75 continental U.S. cities non-stop from this airport. :)

If we are flying to Mexico, Central America, or the Caribbean, we have to change planes somewhere in the U.S. Dallas Love Field doesn't have international immigration.
 
Janann said:
I just checked the schedule from Dallas Love Field. The airline serves 75 continental U.S. cities non-stop from this airport. :)

If we are flying to Mexico, Central America, or the Caribbean, we have to change planes somewhere in the U.S. Dallas Love Field doesn't have international immigration.
Click to expand...

Yes being at a Hub airport (for any airline) makes a huge difference! Unfortunately- Ohio has no airport hubs anymore.
 
GTLINZ said:
It appears to me one of the worst changes is no refunds on the cheaper fares .... a show stopper
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Wanna Get Away fares have never been refundable. They have always resulted in a flight credit. Though currently that credit has no expiration date. In the future it will have a 6-month expiration which is a huge downgrade.
 
Their competitors must be cheering.

A 6 month expiration will be difficult. It previously was one year before they eliminated the expiration.

Bulking up points before the May cutoff to avoid expiration.
 
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jwalk03 said:
I want to see the actual free bag details on the card. I have the priority card which is their top one already, but will it just be 1 free bag for me?
What about my wife who is an Auth User- will she get one too?
Or my kids? If it gives me 1 free bag for each I suppose that's ok.
But if its just one for me that perk is not great.
Also do I get 1 free for being A-list and 1 free for the card? Or just 1-free total?

The devil is in the details which they conveniently did not provide.
Click to expand...
Did you get an e-mail from Southwest? To me it sounds like one free checked bag per credit card account.

1741704416600.png
 
They need to change the layout of their planes. I'm not paying for business select to sit in an economy seat so I can get free bags. Southwest has too many layover flights that other carriers do non-stop. I hope this works for them, but I think they are going to lose customers.
 
Janann said:
Did you get an e-mail from Southwest? To me it sounds like one free checked bag per credit card account.

View attachment 107481
Click to expand...

I did get the email- and yes I fear you are correct. If its just one bag total per account that is a joke. The United Explorer card has a lower annual fee and offers one free bag per person up to like 9 on the same reservation!
 
Shiba said:
They need to change the layout of their planes. I'm not paying for business select to sit in an economy seat so I can get free bags. Southwest has too many layover flights that other carriers do non-stop. I hope this works for them, but I think they are going to lose customers.
Click to expand...

Its almost assuredly going to lose them customers. Its a colossally short sighted and stupid decision.
 
I've been a Southwest loyalist for the better part of two decades, as BWI is their east coast hub and has a really convenient flight schedule for us. This is insane. Apparently one of their larger investors (Elite Investment Management) is pushing this as a way to up earnings in the short-term (whether it will or not is HIGHLY questionable) - literally six months ago, in front of investors and reports their CEO stated none of this would be occurring.

Now they have ZERO brand differentiation. SMH
 
This was in the email they sent me this morning. Has a chart that compares the new classes of fares, and fees associated.

support.southwest.com

Help Center | Southwest Airlines

Find answers to all of your travel and flight-related questions and view common FAQ articles regarding your travel experience when you fly with Southwest Airlines.
support.southwest.com support.southwest.com

Dave
 
jmhpsu93 said:
one of their larger investors (Elite Investment Management) is pushing this as a way to up earnings in the short-term
Click to expand...
exactly what I figured. Is that "Eliot"?
jmhpsu93 said:
six months ago, in front of investors and reports their CEO stated none of this would be occurring
Click to expand...
how many shares does the CEO own? does he like his J-O-B?
Blue Horseshoe loves Anacott Steel
 
Last edited:
jmhpsu93 said:
Now they have ZERO brand differentiation. SMH
Click to expand...
Do you really need any brand differentiation? As long as you offer non-stop flights people will book your airline. A nonstop flight on Spirit is far better than a connecting flight on another airline.
 
LOL. CEO has no skin in this game. Next.
0.40%% of Shares Held by ALL Insider (incl CEO, BoD, etc)
Top HoldersSharesDate Reported% OutValue
Vanguard (mostly just index BS)68.65MDec 31, 202411.58%2,107,676,163
Elliott Investment Management59.67MDec 31, 202410.07%1,831,761,595
Capital World Investors57.53MDec 31, 20249.71%1,766,216,756
Primecap Management48.9MDec 31, 20248.25%1,501,231,664
State Street Corporation38.13MDec 31, 20246.43%1,170,480,171
Blackrock Inc.34.87MDec 31, 20245.88%1,070,472,125
Franklin Resources, Inc.32.98MDec 31, 20245.56%1,012,451,303
 
WaikikiFirst said:
exactly what I figured. Is that "Eliot"?

how many shares does the CEO own? does he like his J-O-B?
Blue Horseshoe loves Anacott Steel
Click to expand...
Yes...Eliott
 
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