Southwest Airlines has announced plans to become just like every other airline, but with less going for it. They’re moving to assigned seats, introducing basic economy fare restrictions, and they’re going to start expiring flight credits. The airline is dropping its unique selling proposition of ‘bags fly free’ and – even after already devaluing points 43% in 12 years have gone a step further by eliminating the guaranteed value of a point, so that awards cost more when tickets are most expensive and you need to use your points the most.

This puts them into the category of airlines like American and JetBlue, but without the positives going for it. Southwest has arguably the worst wifi in the industry aside from Frontier which doesn’t offer the feature. They don’t have true first class (even Spirit and Frontier are moving to this!). They don’t have lounges. They don’t have seatback entertainment.

• The airline’s new Board of Directors has forced management to make a complete U-turn on its plans and implement changes that leave customers having only schedule and price as reasons to choose Southwest.

• You’d fly Southwest when they’re cheapest (even including bag fees and seat fees), and when you don’t care about amenities. In other words, they’re choosing to enter a race to the bottom at precisely the time when passengers have shifted their buying behavior away from this model.

And a new survey of customers reveals that Southwest is scared. Southwest is asking just how much their passengers hate what they’ve done, rating each of their biggest changes on the following scale – Like very much / like somewhat / neutral / dislike somewhat / dislike very much:

• Ending free checked bags
  
• Basic economy
  
• Assigned seats
  
• Devaluing Rapid Rewards points
  
• Expiring flight credits

NEW SURVEY REGARDING THE BACKLASH! GO AND VOTE!
byu/ox123456 inSouthwestAirlines

The survey asks what passengers think will happen to airfares, whether good customer service will still be provided, and whether the arline will still take care of its customers? Does Southwest Airlines still “stand[..] out from other airlines” is a good way to capture some of this. And the survey asks whether these changes make it more or less likely that customers will fly the airline?

On the last screen of the survey, where customers can write-in questions free-form, one respondent asks them to recommend an American Airlines credit card. Another asks how much their activist investors paid them “to sell the soul of this company.” Hopefully those answers make it into the summaries seen by management and they get the message.

Is this a last ditch attempt by management to convince the Board of Directors to backtrack on some of the most extreme changes they’ve made? Or an skunkworks project by Southwest lifers to show management the errors of the path they’re on? That much is unclear.

However the smart thing to do would be to seriously consider assigned seats – many customers really do prefer this, and the move to offer extra legroom seats (while taking legroom away from regular coach on many aircraft) requires that those seats at least be assigned. They should be offering to sell blocked middle seats, too, at least – more revenue and a better experience!

But everything else they’ve announced is unequivocally worse for customers with no redeeming upside. They want customers to spend more while getting less, and while not making additional investments in the travel experience.

Checked bag fees will mean confiscating more carry-on bags at the gate as passengers try to bring everything on board to save money, and this will delay flights which is costly. And their gates aren’t even always equipped to handle the increased volume of gate checked bags! There’s increased staffing considerations to make this happen, as well. Their IT may not even be up for implementing all of the changes they’ve announced.

In September, I wrote that basic economy and checked bag fees were coming but then CEO Bob Jordan explained to investors why free checked bags made the airline more profitable and sent a message to customers promising free checked bags would stay. At this point can the damage be undone? Would customers even trust them again?

(HT: Paddle Your Own Kanoo)