Southwest Airlines may have reached a new level of petty in their quest to nickel and dime passengers.
Already, the airline that marketed ‘transfarency’ – the idea that your ticket price is the full cost of your travel – has started charging for checked bags; imposing basic economy restrictions on tickets; plans to start charging for seats; and now expires travel credits.
However – in an unannounced change – they have started charging customers a fee to check bags curbside. Here’s a sign at their Dallas Love Field hub listing a price of $3 per bag.
Southwest is now charging an Agent Assist Fee at Check-in for Curbside at Dallas Love Field.
byu/LowFaresDoneRightEIR inSouthwestAirlines
I revealed exclusively in March that Southwest Airlines had fired all of its Skycaps, employees who assist with curbside check-in. They decided to gain labor cost savings by outsourcing to a third party.
At the time I wondered whether we might see Southwest start charging a fee per bag checked in curbside. However, the airline pushed back telling me that in the cities where they already outsourced curbside check-in, they did not charge for the service.
However American Airlines figured out that they could turn curbside check-in from a cost center to a revenue-generator by having a third party provide the service and splitting the fees. From the Southwest Airlines signage, it appears their work is outsourced to Bags, Inc., the same vendor that American Airlines uses. Once again, Southwest is copying their less successful competitors in an unrelenting march toward enshitification.
The Dallas-based carrier used to have a clear value proposition. They were a simple short haul carrier with friendly staff and friendly policies, and it made them the most consistently profitable airline in history and the model for low cost carriers around the world. Coming out of the pandemic their profits slimmed, and they decided they were bored with success. So instead of leaning into their competitive advantages they’ve pivoted to mimic the least friendly policies of less successful airlines like American and JetBlue.
Herb Kelleher is turning over in his grave as current CEO Bob Jordan selling planes and loading up on debt to fund stock buybacks in a screenplay we’ve seen before.
SWA is copying a provably successful element of their competitor. They’re not copying the entire competitor.
Zero sympathy for fired skycaps as their total income far exceeded any reasonable amount for the service provided because of America’s relentlessly foolish tipping culture.
@un I remember reading an article in the Chicago Tribune in the late 80s and it said Skycaps at O’hare could make over 75,000 a year. That was in the late 80s. Outrageous. Tipping is a joke.
@Hiker – inflation adjusted that is $200,000 a year, and when you consider the bulk of that income being unreported and therefore untaxed cash, it was effectively a $300,000 a year salary which is outrageous.
Tipping culture is a joke on every level. It’s more of an embarrassment to America than the current president.
regardless of how much skycaps make or made, Gary’s point is valid that WN’s customers are the ones that were blindsided.
They are looking to squeeze the poop out of every buffalo they can find. Their execs have said they are exceeding their cost cutting goals.
What else is next?
All of these moves will get SWAs Balance Sheet in better shape then they will be acquired or sold off in parts.
Why do you even need curbside check-in when just about everybody has a roller bag? It never takes me very long on United to check a bag. I just get my boarding pass and tag at the kiosk and give the bag to an employee.. A United employee will even push the kiosk buttons for you sometimes. I didn’t have to tip any of them. If you want extra special treatment then you can pay 3 bucks per bag.
@Hiker – I rarely travel at peak times, and never check bags, but this is for the folks that do. Sometimes at ORD or MDW, for example, a bag drop line might be 30 mins (yes, really), but a SkyCap might take only 5 mins. That can also be the difference between successful checkin and “I’m sorry, sir/madam, but you missed the cutoff by 10 mins.”
@Gary – Enshittification has two T’s in it.
So, so glad I decided to burn all those Southwest points this year. I should be about done with them in January, with only a small balance remaining.
WN did not guarantee anything would last forever.
Would you say DL customers have been blindsided when DL decided to start selling first class seats instead of giving them away as upgrades, so now it’s extremely difficult to get an upgrade as a Diamond on routes when in the past it would have been easy as a Silver?
@Un “WN did not guarantee anything would last forever.”
Literally two months ago they argued against my prediction that they would charge for curbside checked bags by pointing out that where they outsourced curbside check-in already they weren’t charging. their ceo promised in the fall that they would not charge for checked bags. so, sure, i guess they could say now ‘our fingers were crossed’ but they are certainly going back on their clearly articulated word. and here they made no announcement. so customers turn up at the airport surprised (and it’s a change made to trip cost after folks have purchased tickets).
@Hiker “Why do you even need curbside check-in when just about everybody has a roller bag? It never takes me very long on United to check a bag.”
Think about families with small children, or a parent traveling with 2-3 kids, they have more checked bags than the parent can manage while looking after their kids.
Let. Them. Fail.
I haven’t flown in 10 years, but when I did try, I and was able to get curbside help, I would gladly tip the person who was taking care of my bags. In my opinion tipping is how the person who is tipping. Values the service. That’s how I have always tipped. Yeah, generally it’s probably a little more than most people, but I put myself in the shoes that is doing the job that I’m more than likely don’t want to do.
I think that I may have flown WN twice or thrice, and that was years before C0v!d, the Great Reset, the Pause, and the Pivot. I’ve no beef with them, neither then nor now. The think is, just like I doubt that Global Airlines is going to bring back the Golden Age of Travel pre-Reagan-de(re?)regulation of the airlines, I doubt that WN ever will return to what is was pre-C0v1d.
As for Skycaps, yeah, I know. I last used a Skycap two months ago in a hurrty at MIA, and I (over)tipped for two rollerbags, and he was super-fast and efficient in taking it and giving me my boarding pass with all the correct information. Part of me says, that’s overkill at best, and mafia shakedown at worst for me without spouse and kids and multiple messy bags. Another part of me says, yeah, I’m sticking it to “The Man” “Corporate Greed” “Government Overreach” and just helping out another poor wage slave energetically making the best of it through the soul-crushing systerm.
Southwest, just another money grabbing airline now!
Why does Fatty hate capitalism so much? The inane errors in this rant boggle the mind. Southwest did not decide they were bored with success their shareholders did. You have other choices…try them.
Yeesh. At this point I wouldn’t be surprised if they started charging an annual $49 Rapid Rewards program membership fee.
They are trying to see how many loyal customers they can loose and make it up by charging for checked bags and check-in. Greed will always loose!!
@Jim LeJeune – your strange aspersions notwithstanding, you don’t seem to understand capitalism when you treat shareholders as somehow not part of the company? And you suggest ‘just don’t fly them’ as the alternative when I’m writing that many will do just that – nothing inconsistent with a market in writing about the decisions of market participants!
“enshitification”
I’m gonna have to start using that one. Thanks, Gary!
Southwest is leaping hard toward mediocre. I priced a trip for later this month and United was better price, seats, and included luggage for $200 less round trip on a common route for both airlines. They may not think baggage costs matter, but when you factor it as an extra, you can make an informed decision.
Lots of things that used to be nice are now marching .towards enshitification
@Un: “WN did not guarantee anything would last forever.”
@Gary: “Literally two months ago they argued against my prediction that they would charge for curbside checked bags”
It’s all based on Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. The time experienced by different flyers depends upon the airline on which they are flying. “Forever” for one person is 2 months for another.
I flew out of Love Field early this morning and curbside check-in was a shit show. It took me two hours to check my bag and get through security. I made it to my gate just ten minutes before my flight started boarding. The vast majority of passengers at the airport all said that they would rather fly out of DFW than deal with that chaos again. Southwest is losing customers loyal customers left and right.
I was a loyal A-List Preferred for a decade. As soon as I use up my Southwest points, I am joining the rest of the unloyal travelers and looking for the cheapest fare available. Southwest has lost my loyalty by basically telling me that my loyalty wasn’t worth theirs.
I realize that Gary Leff doesn’t know much about actual airlines and their operations, other than what he reads and reposts of course, but the fact of the matter is that the overwhelming majority of Southwest airports didn’t have sky caps to begin with, and the of the handful that did were mostly third party vendors.
Thankfully Gary pointed out value of sky caps once you have children. Whilst I have never used LUV, I can remember the delta sky cap that helped me every Friday afternoon for the better part of a year. Same dude, always with a smile. He was worth every dollar and made my exceptionally long day. I hope LUV sky caps are remembered and rewarded well.
@Gary Leff — I know we’re talkin’ SW here, but didn’tcha hear the great news: EWR is reopening the second (parallel) runway two weeks early (tomorrow, Monday), so, who knows, maybe all our troubles are behind us! (At Newark, at least… oh wait, how’s the radar? Yikes.)
One more time, too, anyone with access should definitely watch The Rehearsal Season 2 (Nathan literally becomes a pilot, just to highlight air safety concerns, especially with cockpit communication.) Worth the watch.
And still, nuthin yet on that Qatari 747? Yeesh…
SWA should have bought out the investment firm with a tender offer for their shares. Now SWA stakeholders are getting shafted by a “single” shareholder because executive management feared for their jobs.
Guess what SWA executives with little to no flyers, there’s no need for SWA to exist anymore, which means you are out on the street.
And remember this, that “single” shareholder could care less. You should have stood up for SWA stakeholders instead. We made SWA what it was “employees and business customers that flew regularly through out the fiscal year”.
And not that shareholder. Shareholders have no loyalty to any one corporation.
Good luck finding loyal business “flyers” now.
So glad that I don’t have to fly, do the two-three round-trip flights every month anyone. I guess I’ll let those points die on the vine. And why, because you made them almost worthless…
Herb Keller was right!!!
I probably am the odd one out but I liked the curbside check in as it
Was so much better than standing in those long li es…and yes I did tip them. Knowing now that SW fires their own employees I will not do this anymore.
Shame on SW air.
Enjoy the new lines. It takes 5 to 20 minutes to process one customer curbside in Phx now! The ticket counter is now unbearable now that the Swa Skycaps are gone. Worth a measly $5 tip you cheap people! You’ll see if you ever fly out of Phx.
Dynamic pricing and baggage fees means I now will check every airline for the best deal instead of flying southwest by default.
@gary left “Think about families with small children, or a parent traveling with 2-3 kids, they have more checked bags than the parent can manage while looking after their kids.”
You nailed it. 3 kids, ages 1, 3, and 6. Two massive car seats, and a booster. Plenty of carry-ons, and 1 checked bag too. Probably a stroller, which I’ll gate check so I can bring the baby through the airport. There aren’t enough hands, and it seems silly to get a luggage carry just to get inside. It’s great to have curbside check-in, and a bummer to see all the recent changes at Southwest.
Gary: excellent writing … summarizing SW Air in one sentence. “They were a simple short haul carrier with friendly staff and friendly policies, and it made them the most consistently profitable airline in history and the model for low cost carriers around the world.” Save it, put it on the SW tombstone …
and, $3 to take my suitcase, label and headed to my plane, a major hassle avoided … I got no gripes.
Going by the thinking that skycaps were making too much money, what is to be said about those working on Wall Street and hedge funds that make millions for little work? Shouldn’t the goal be everyone doing well enough to be comfortable regardless of the job?
I remember more than 33 years ago when I worked for a private company for American airlines at JFK, I did some partial work for the skycaps to make a quick buck and omg. They always had a heart attack if I took a passenger to the check-in counter and they would have a fit with me and I always knew that one day, their jobs will become from obsolete to completely diminished. I’m kind of glad that this happened cos many of them were really greedy and didn’t want to “share the wealth”.
I have used Southwest only as my carrier of choice as it had lower fares, bags fly free, and the friendliest and most helpful staff in the business. Now your CEO is breaking the brand promise and nickel and diming us to death. There is no advantage to my continuing to only fly SW, I’ll look for the cheapest flight now no matter the airline. Mr Jordan You have just cut off your nose to spite your face!!!!!!
The CEO OF SWAL MAKE MILLIONS ON ALL THESE FEE’S SEATS BAGS NO MORE MEALS EXCEPT FLIGHTS THAT GO 8HRS + & EVEN THAN YOU MIGHT NOT GET A MEAL OR YOU MIGHT HAVE TO PAY FOR IT BAG FEE ARE A JOKE LETS WAKE UP & GET WASHINGTON TO HELP US
So, WN stopped providing a service that all customers paid for and, in turn, have transferred the cost to those who use it? I like that. I’d have no problem if an airline who included free alcohol in economy plus, started charging. (To be fair I never have used a skycap and don’t drink on planes.) I also like it when those who benefit from a college education the most (the graduate) pay for it.
Venture Capitalist playbook. Shake every nickel loose from the investment, then sell themselves the best parts, then rent/lease them back to the purchase. Later roll in some debt, declare bankruptcy, make the debt and pensions and pesky employees all go away, and then sell off the valuable parts you own free and clear. Maybe somewhere in there is a merger attempt.
@Dave W – the beneficiary of a college education is society. Educated people make the world better. Idiots like you? Well that’s why God invented cancer, so you could die from it.
@tvjames – capitalism is the game in America so maybe instead of whining about it, get good?
With all of the changes SWA will lose me as a dedicated customer once my points are gone. After decades of travel with them I will now comparison shop. The $3 to check a bag at the curb is less than I tipped, but with children now grown and disabled spouse no longer able to travel, I don’t anticipate that being a needed service.
Complaining about OPTIONALLY paying $3 to use a skycap, then walking inside to happily spend $8+tip on a cup of coffee…hilarious.
Meanwhile Delta and AA charge well over $100 a year for the privilege of using their branded credit card on ever diminishing point values. That’s a lot of trips to the skycap!
This whole conversation would be akin to your hair lighting on fire because Costco raised the price of chicken from $5 to $7…..meanwhile everywhere else in town chicken is $10.
It’s also not as though Southwest is making a ton of money at the moment either. Not saying their management is great or doesn’t have problems, but perhaps you should ask yourself what kind of unrighteous acts Delta/United are imposing to have cash fly out of their nose at the moment? Seems to me SW is just being either more honest at best, or less adept at worst regarding how they frame charges.
It seems as though your View from the Wing is a little bent with a double standard.
It will be interesting to see what the bag and curbside fees will generate in revenue at the end of the year. I still believe that Southwest is being prepped to sell.
enshitification
Points for the perfect word.
Who is in charge over there Elon? Way to go Southwest, thanks for kicking us while we are already down. I will be avoiding your lack of service at all cost. People we do have a voice, use yours.
Is that a skycap or just a guy pretending to be a skycap and you will never see your bags again???
The idiot that wishes cancer on those who dare disagree with him/her speaks her/his venom again. I’d point out that society benefits from higher education, but the individual receiving a college degree receives the bulk of the benefit and is in a perfect position to judge if the education is worth it. Free college produces a lot more art history majors. It costs society a lot, but benefits us little. People who pay for college will ask if it’s worth it, thus less art history majors. Students pay only a small percentage of what it costs now, anyway. That’s what I’d say, but, of course, some here just prefer insults to discourse.
I will be keeping my $3.00 in my pocket. I’ve been loyal to SWA for years but not anymore. It’s just plain greed. That’s how you loose your loyal customers.
@UN YOU have a choice of Airlines as well as where to live. If you are embarrassed by America grab a dart and throw it at a map and pack up. Get the hell out of the USA. You won’t be missed even the slightest. Be sure and fly a foreign carrier when you leave & apply for citizenship legally. No returns on people like you.
@UN YOU have a choice of Airlines as well as where to live. If you are embarrassed by America grab a dart and throw it at a map and pack up. Get the hell out of the USA. You won’t be missed even the slightest. Be sure and fly a foreign carrier when you leave & apply for citizenship legally. No returns on people like you.
I have no idea why everybody is so up in arms about this. Southwest is not all their customers anything! The goal of Southwest current management team is to maximize profits for the company and its investors! Southwest provides a service that people are willing to pay for so why should they not charge all around to maximize their profits? I would venture to say Southwest doesn’t really want the passengers that do not fly frequently. The family of six that flies out to Disney once a year is more trouble than they are worth. The frequent business traveler whose company is paying for the flight is where the money is at!
I like the option of skycaps when I pull up to an airport. If you don’t want to tip, then don’t use the service. Skycaps earn their money considering they have to deal with dozens of morons everyday.
I’m not sure why Southwest is doing all this. It’s like they are trying do drive travelers away. The only change I as a rewards member ever wanted was an assigned seat, so the wheelchair brigade didn’t take all the seats up front by the bathroom. The rest of this is nickel and diming us to where I may stop traveling altogether or travel by car, bus or train. I am retired so I can take 3-4 days to get somewhere.
Corporate greed at its finest.
My husband and I took my kid home from college yesterday. Too much stuff – 6 checked and 6 carry-on. Mostly heavy duffel bags. Checked curbside. Two of the bags were overweight, and the porter was super helpful with rearranging. I gladly tipped him $20.
No, I’m not a big tipping culture person but he earned it. And my kid needs to learn how to pack.
$3 for curbside bag checkin? Hey, that’s a cost reduction. I would tip the skycap $5. Now, I’ll pay $3 and no tip. I just saved $2. Thanks SW.
I am disabled and need assistance from the car drop off point. Southwest skycaps have always been so helpful. Will there be an extra charge for help too.
Until now, I have never even thought about using another airline for domestic travel for the 3-5 flights I take per year. Now that Southwest is just as crappy as everyone else, might as well just use the lowest fare showing on Google flights.
I have two flights booked under the pre-5/28 system using up my remaining points and gift card money. After that, I’ll give the other airlines a chance for a while.
What a self own by Southwest.
I don’t think there’s any reason that you would find me on a Southwest airlines flight, again….. Unless I had no other options?! Everything that made them attractive, low price, no stress reservation changes, free luggage, and unreserved seating… Is going away, along with any good reasons for actually sticking with Southwest, for air travel ?!
What are these comments? Are you all paid off by the airlines or something? South West used to be my go to airline because of cost… now they are the same cost or more than the big airlines with Spirit Airlines quality planes and accommodations. I hope people stop flying them. If your going to fork out the same as a big carrier you might as well get the nicer planes and accommodations of the big carrier.
Wherever I can, I am now switching to Alaska Air or United. Having recently done an extensive fare search (in my markets) Southwest is no longer the best option. United beat them by nearly $200 on one cenerio & Alaska has their companion ticket option with their B of A credit card.
I’ll keep my SW credit card just for the free bag perk but other than that goodby SW.
i
Last week’s flight out of Las Vegas was delayed because six members of a family group were in wheelchairs, young and old. At least a couple of them had no problem getting out of the chair to use the restroom. The gate agents announced that if any of the wheelchair customers were able to board under their own power, however slowly, that would help the flight keep to schedule, but no one responded. Why not require a disability status for wheelchair boarding? Wheeling people around the airport is fine, leave that unchanged and perhaps offer luggage assistance for the infirm. But no more gaming the system by the merely lazy.
I have been a Southwest customer for over 40 years. No longer do I fly Southwest, Alaska and United have my business. Greedy and sad Southwest.
I just flew out of lax they charged me 4$ a bag. I use southwest every month to go back and forth the my doctors for treatment. And I have tried to stay loyal to them even with all the changes they have made but I’m about to my breaking point. I understand they need to make money to operate but if they offer something that the consumer can relate to then they should put the consumer first on some aspect. Now they are like any other airline and Delta is better than they are even with southwest new planes. I wish they would bring back a little of their heart for us.
I dont understand how anyone will want to travel by plane going forward unless it’s for a family emergency or business requirement? This is bs& a sign of the times. End of the world is likely. This is the start.
I just took my final flight this past Saturday with Southwest because of their new regulations. At the Chicago Midway Airport, to check in with bags on the outside is $4.00 per bag and they don’t accept cash.
Dave thinks students only pay a portion of their college tuition now? Is he dumb, or just really really old? The cheapest public university in America comes out to about $8-10k per year, for four years. Let’s go low end and say $32k total. Let’s say you pay for this with student loans. When one graduates, they are required to pay back the FULL loan. Stop me at the point they are giving away free college.
It’s not like back in the day when you went to school on $250/semester. Stop watching so much Fox News Dave.
SWA is devolving from a no frills carrier into the new frontier, spirit. Will bankruptcy be far behind? We used to fly SWA frequently because of their timeliness, price, baggage policy, and flexibility. Now that they’ve abandoned those attributes, we’ll never fly them again. Anyone want to buy my accumulated FFM’s?
These comments are hilarious. I have to suspect that some folks here have SW vested interests. I’ll put it very simply; I have just under 250k SW points, I’ve been a SW Priority Credit Card holder for almost a decade, and a SW (LUV) shareholder since Jan, 2021. Suffice to say I was a fan.
I am now 100% done with SW. They have given up everything and anything that set them apart, and worse they have shown that they cannot be trusted. Every additional act – even adding $3 for a service I’ve never used – just reinforces the sentiment.
Obviously they think they know what they are doing, but I am sure the leadership at Blockbuster, RadioShack, TGI Fridays, Kodak, Bed Bath & Beyond, Forever 21, etc., etc. had it all figured out too, until they didn’t.
As someone who grew up in Texas and worked in airline industry for a number of years I just think Southwest is exhibiting cancel culture at its finest. Their fsre structure “used” to be unorthodox but these recent changes completely eradicated everything that once made them special. In the last year however United has beat them on fares in the markets I fly most often so I’d stick with United and use my Explorer card benefits for a free bag check. I’d always end up paying for the early bird check in anyway to get a better seat so why not fly United where I get to pick my seat and have a free bag?
Goodbye Southwest…you have now truly resorted to the old moniker we used to refer to in the 80s when I worked for Continental Airlines – SOUTHWORST”
The great thing of free markets is SW will quickly see if the new policies foisted on them by activist shareholders increase or decrease profit.. If you are right they will quickly see profit dropping and customers leaving and will have the option to return to their old policies.
Let’s see what the next few quarters earnings show. Do customers really care enough
@1990, and may you and your entire family be the next in line in the Unemployment Office since you wish that fate on the 60,000+ Employees of Southwest Airlines/
Ultimately it comes down to a business decision. Flying isn’t a right yet people treat it as such. It is a service one contracts with a carrier. I get this won’t be popular but based on how people dress and act in the gate area and on flights is ridiculous.
These costs have always existed. Once ticket costs were broken out the complaints started.
This is 2025; not 1975!
Most people are used to paying extra fees for services rendered now.
As long as Southwest takes care of the cabin passengers, keeping them safe, the added fees don’t mean a thing. Just remember, this is just my opinion.
Even though community college per unit fees for tuition have gone up, my local community college here in California currently charges less than $1,000 for 20 units (there are additional fees such as student activity fees, etc. but they total less than tuition). Going to a community college for the first two years while living at home can lead to a much less expensive undergraduate education. Just go to a community college that will count as transfer credit for the targeted 4 year school and get top grades. Per my experience, I found that the professors at the community college were better at teaching than the professors at the college where I got my Bachelor of Science degree.
Seems to me SWA has cut its own throat for a little extra money. Two fees for baggage , assigned seat, terrible choice’s that come with your ticket without spending too much. Plus their ticket price has not gone down any. I’m definitely going to look elsewhere after flying with them since a move 11 years ago and four to five flights a year. Think that’s what a lot more travels are thinking as well.
It’s what I called “Brown Envy”, when I used to work at FedEx Express. The takeover by micromanagers took a once great company and turned it in to a Cinderella story. Only difference was, the “Ugly Step-sisters'” got all the goodies while we had no option to go to the “Ball” or not.
Herb is shaking his head now in disbelief. I have flown SWA since they started, not the same company.
I think Southwest is going to regret these changes. I for one will not fly Southwest again.
Private equity strikes again. People need to fight back against this scum that strip businesses for their parts and screw over employees and customers.
I will never fly Southwest Airlines again. Somehow, they have lost their way. I’ll pray that they return to normal and stop trashing a really great company.
Those were jobs that were part of the industry and perhaps paid a few bills. More and more we become way less than we used to be. The airlines are the new bus stations!
Carla I’m from an airline family and I totally agree. But there is NO competition so they can thumb their nose at us and point to the bus station but I’m beginning to not see a difference anymore.
As a long term SW fIyer, I am saddened by the way greedy investors have forced the operators of SW to rip the heart out of this airline that used to have character & a commitment to all customers. The onboard crew even offered humor. The charging for bags , threat to remove open seating and eliminating assistance from the Skycaps
Their Skycaps were the best, I certainly tipped more than $5.00; they were always helpful & more than just bag handlers.
.SW will soon have to change their Logo, since they no longer have any heart for their customers or services. Greed & Profit should not be the sole measures of success in this country.
Just in case the rest of you are interested, I’ll reply to the “new” poster trying to goad me. 《$17,709 is the average cost of tuition at any 4-year institution, representing 46.3% of college costs for a first-time, full-time student living on campus.
$9,750 is the average cost of in-state tuition at public 4-year institutions, representing 35.9% of the cost of attendance for a full-time student living on campus.》https://educationdata.org/average-cost-of-college
The first number in each line is not the actual out-of-pocket cost, but the “sticker price.” From this students get scholarships and financial aid. So, the first number is overstated on average. And, the first and second numbers include food and housing costs that we all have anyway. So, yes, students pay on average a small percentage of non room and board univerdity costs—the cost of instruction. Sorry, but I don’t watch Fox News (or CNN or MSNBC), but I have extensive experience dealing with universities. Of course, very few students have a full ride, but there are those who argue everyone should.
It’s all about the cost of doing business. The pilots want a 40 percent increase over 5 years. The flight attendants want a 40 percent over 5 years. The cost of mechanics to service the aircraft. The cost of jet fuel has tripled. The reality is it’s only to get worse,so buckle up or keep on bending over
@American — Management (and the activist investors at Elliott) are to blame here. Ultimately, their (likely purposeful) destruction of this once beloved airline is going to kill the company and those jobs in their current form, not me. I’ve been pro-consumer and pro-worker on here the entire time.
That said, if ultimately the airline ends, merges, or is acquired, etc., as has happened in the industry many times before, (see: Northwest, Continental, Pan Am, TWA, etc.), it will indeed affect a lot of people, yes. None of them deserved this poor treatment. They all should speak up against these bad practices, as should consumers.
Generally, I continue to wish that there were even better protections for everyone, and I’ve frequently advocated for that here, yet the reality is that it’s going to get turbulent. Let’s prepare ourselves.
I will not use SWA from JAX to Hobby Houston because they only have one non-stop with 6:AM flight time. United has 4 non-stop with much better times
@Dave W. — You are right to call out @Un for inappropriate comments (specifically those on the previous page, regarding cancer). Based on @Un’s other hostile and misguided comments on other posts, it’s safe to say that @Un is a pro-CCP troll. Bad actor. Watch out, folks.
I just flew on a SW flight to Cancun. I have always received acceptional service on flights. Since the changes to their business plan, I have witnessed a decline in service. Clearly, the attendants are not happy. They were on their phones tending to personal issues. Never witnessed this prior to the changes.We want free bags, open seating, and and uncomplicated fare structure.
I love that everyone just miraculously disregards the fact the company was effectively under hostile takeover and like anyone has a choice in the matter.
.Been flying SW for over 40 years.Never minded the boarding system and loved the great, friendly service on and off the planes. These new changes have turned them into the bottom of the pack (excepting Spirit) from being the best of them all! All the big airlines now offer more flights, more amenities and more direct flights and all now at the same cost. I am done flying with SW Airlines. So sorry their greed has completely destroid all that was uniquely attractive about them!
Bring back west coast non stop flights. You used to have them. There are also too many 2 stop flights or one stop with outrageous wait times to switch planes. I have a trip booked to fly from the south to the north and my plane switches in Chicago!!
Did you expect the iceberg to never melt?
Why would a company change their policy, i.e., baggage policy, if they expect to lose $3 billion by doing. So?
All of you STOP complaining. You are in the beginning stages of FAA FINDING OUT! From the top down it’s profit over people hatred over tolerance, disrespect over respect, etc The dominoes are falling. You all thought your choices were just going to be confined to POLITICS. Welcome to the new America!
Once WN has assigned seats, I’d be willing to try them again. They have nonstops others don’t have from my home airport. But like @Terry Allyn’s problem, I’d need to fly out at 5am or 6pm for one of those destinations.
Maximizing profits is Code Word for Strip Minning Customer Service. These Executives who Strip Mine get massive compensation bonus package while the customers – public suffer.
The recent wave of changes at Southwest Airlines isn’t about strategic vision or operational improvement. Let’s be honest: it’s the direct result of pressure from activist investor Elliott Management, a group with a track record of muscling into companies, demanding shakeups, and then walking away with a tidy profit — no matter the long-term cost to anyone else.
What’s really distressing is the ripple effect these moves will have on the people who actually make Southwest what it is. Employees who’ve built their lives around a company culture that’s famously different, customers who trust Southwest for its reliability and quirks — all of them will be left to pick up the pieces once Elliott has wrung out whatever short-term gains it can find. The airline, once a model of how to do things differently in a brutal industry, will be forced into the same tired mold as every other carrier, all so a handful of investors can cash out and move on.
This isn’t just a Southwest problem; it’s a flaw in the system. In theory, capitalism rewards innovation and hard work. But in practice, it too often lets financial engineers swoop in, gut a company for fast profits, and then disappear before the consequences hit. The business may survive, but the soul — the thing that made it special in the first place — is gone.
There’s a word for this kind of behavior: greed. And while it may be legal, it’s hard to see how it’s right. I can only hope that one day, the people who treat companies and communities like disposable assets will face the consequences, whether it’s in the market, in public opinion, or somewhere else.
Southwest’s employees and loyal passengers deserve better. We all do.
How long before this new CEO is removed? Dude is pulling a Carlos Stalantis , and needs to be removed before southwest goes the way of PSA.
Me personally love that SW went or is going to assigned seating. There was just to much drama getting a seat and boarding.
Mark my words, if they don’t Make some changes to undo some of these things, this will be the undermining of Southwest. When you start doing things that make customers look at your competitors for the first time in years, like I will be doing now you’re doing something wrong. I have no clue what American airlines and Delta etc charge for checked baggage but I’m going to be finding out this year and will be looking at the airfares for the first time in at least 5 years cuz I used to always just go to Southwest’s site. How is forcing me to shop going to be good for their bottom line, unless they plan on slashing airfares which so far I’ve heard it’s been the opposite. Blockbuster video started doing the same thing increasing prices and reducing services and I wrote to them years ago and they said they’re thinking of their shareholders and that’s why they made all the changes, well what are their shareholders think of now lol.
If there’s no competition you might be able to get away with it but obviously there’s plenty of competition in the airline industry.
I was a SWA skycap that was affected by the company wide layoffs. I decided not to take the Bags Inc job knowing that everything will change moving forward. Please know that it is not the fault of the skycaps that have decided to stay with the new vendor. We worked for our tips and not just asked for one like most places now. You can thank Elliot Management for the recent changes.
I am done with Southwest, they are no longer worth my drive to SDF, BNA, or IND to catch their flights. I am now booking DL and AA from my home airport. Amtrak is a great option now, I hope all the airline greed and poor service that is typical today opens new doors for Amtrak. They are often overlooked and on most routes offer the comforts of what would be considered business class on the airlines. Sure it’s slower paced, but don’t we all need to slow down and realize that the journey itself can be the vacation? I just took VIA Rails Canadian from Toronto out to Vacouver, it was wonderful…the best part was the wonderful people I met on board. Yep, its the rails for me now that I am retired.
On a trip a few months ago the curbside checking told us this. And at that point they had No idea what was in store with their jobs. If they’d still have one. Plus on another flight emplo, at gate was chatting with some of us and mentioned that Southwest gave themselves a Huge bonus right before they announced the baggage fees. Did they think people ( employees) wouldn’t talk. Also heard from another person who had a family member who worked for SWA, that they use to have a deal with the fuel suppliers for lower fuel price to help keep fares down when they cared. And all seems to have gone downhill since a new Head came in. That former Top man cared a lot. But not the new powers that be. Can’t swear on any of this, but was said by employees. Not hearsay.
I just booked my next flight with Delta. Right now, you have to pay for your bags on SW, plus another $35 each way for early bird check in so you can sit with family. That’s an additional $70 each way per person! Ridiculous! And their flights aren’t really any less expensive than others – where at least you can choose your seat. Seat selection for SW doesn’t start until sometime in 2026, enough time for their customers try other airlines and maybe prefer them! No way I’m paying an additional $140 in addition to my ticket price so I can get a decent seat and check a bag. SW made a huge mistake. If another air line were smart, they would allow the first checked bag for free. Most people now only travel with a carry on, so it might not impact them much, could be offset by new customers.
We take 10 or more round trips each year and never looked at another airlines. I guess it time to start shopping all the others. Too bad. Sad to see Southwest going the way of all the others.
I have always been an advocate of SW. As a travel agent, I steered my clients in that direction. They are just going to be like any other airline now with having to pay for bags and seats. It’s really a shame that someone new can come in and tear down the reputation that was built up. Def will be looking at all airlines now, when I never did in the past.
I have always been a SW girl, I bragged about only flying on SW. I would not look at another airline unless it an international flight and SW didn’t fly to that destination. All the perks they are doing away with is the reason I loved them. Guess I will be looking at other carriers, since SW is just like them now. I hate to say it but I don’t think they are going to be here to much longer. GREED is going to destroy a company that was #1 in the industry, at least in my eyes.
Another article speaks of this “playbook” from a famous movie of the 1980s about “Corporate Greed”. I say this is but another manifestation of the best-practiced merchants of greed, the “Small Hats”. Like a swarm of locusts with their “venture capital”, they look for a vulnerable company they can LOOT and RUIN, and leave a dried-out husk when they’ve had their fill. Southwest is being swarmed by them ATM.
Hitler had the right idea and the opportunity but he f***ed it up. Pity.
I only flew SWA for years. I am A List Preferred person. I will be taking AA for the first time BC they offer a nonstop to my destination. I was willing to have a layover but no more. AA has made me an offer that I must try. We will see, but no stops sound pretty good now days.
Our whole family have always flown SWA simply because we believe they were different. They where loyal to their customers, so we were loyal to them. Those days are gone. We will not fly them anymore. We simply look for best prices and convince. Sad that loyalty has been eroded by just about every company in America. My dad retired from the AF and then spent the next 25 years with one company that was loyal yo its workers. Now, I’m 59 and have been at 9 different companies because there are no loyal companies anymore. My daughter is 33 and is a VP at the 5th company that she has moved to. When asked why she moved so much. Her answer was a lack of employer loyalty. Anyways, Bye Southwest Airlines.
I, too have flown SWA more than any other airline. I didn’t mind the layovers, unassigned seats, and peanuts and pretzels. However, now that they have messed over the Sky cap’s jobs, many of whom were People of Color, I have had it! I will definitely be taking more Amtrak trips and researching other airlines.
I just tried a new booking. What a cluster f*CK. The basic b*tch bucket is worse than what WGA was before. All the popups and warnings don’t do much to help sell the process either. And this is coming from someone who used to argue and advocate for these guys. I guess they’ll make their bank from all the clueless who won’t know any better. But it’s definitely a loss of a decent product.
Glad you are calling out SW for their nonsense. It was just fine before Elliott showed up.
I too was a firm SWA user. I did wish for assigned seating instead of the way they did it but having the free bags more than made up for it. SW was always the airline I went to for all my trips before ….however that has changed now. I as well as so many other of their loyal customers no longer have any reason to feel that loyalty. I will be looking for the flights that fit my travel times and dates…..since their is no difference in the airlines!
I was loyal to SW because of how they operated with no baggage fees & open seating. I need a bulkhead seat because I am claustrophobic & I need the room to stretch out my legs because of my knees. I have had them replaced, but I was unable to get my range of motion back & that makes it uncomfortable to sit in regular seats. With SW I didn’t have to pay extra for the bulkhead seats like I do with other airlines. I am extremely disappointed with SW taking away or charging for things that made me loyal to them.
For those grumbling about the “cattle” type of boarding & previous open seating policy, no one is forcing you to fly SW. You all booked SW knowing their policies and their way of doing things & then you complain about it. You could have flown other airlines that offered what you wanted. I just wonder how much of your complaining factored in their decision to changing their boarding & seat policies.
At midway in Chicago, I was told it would be four dollars
?????If the former skycaps at SWA were only working for tips……how did it save money by ‘firing’ them all and now using another ‘paid’ service?
I am already missing old SW and the rules haven’t been fully implemented! I started flying SW 10 years ago. Before that I would stay away due to people’s comments of the “cattle” type of boarding. Then, we tried it and after 2 trips we got the gist of it. We actually prefer it! People grab a seat faster, buckle in, and we take off quicker! If I really wanted a special type of flight I would go to Delta but it was rare. Even for work I would just get their business ticket to ensure I’d get A1 seating since I wanted to get off first. I liked the check in bags this helped with people not hauling all their luggage onto the plane! Why people could easily get a seat and we’d take off. Even for family boarding (I have kids) SW is great only 1x in 10 years did we have an issue and it was because the plane was held for us since our first leg was late. But the people swapped so my child could be with one adult. They were simple but that is what got them to stand out. They really were different. That is why their product worked. If you wanted other kind of seating you flew w/another airline. I loved that flying with SW really you felt like everyone else – there was no show offs of first class yet business people still flew it! Again, the system worked. I would not show around b/c I felt I got value from SW. I knew we’d get in the air quickly that is why they were more reliable with flights. Now, they will not be distinguished. I hope their staff continues to be great. Crew stayed with SW they were treated well, even though they didn’t have show off seating. That says a lot of a company. Especially when staff is proud to work for the company and doesn’t talk ill of it. It is heartbreaking to see this change happen. I still wish SW the best and do not wish for it to go under. It is not the staff’s fault about the change. It just will be another ordinary apple. Still crossing my fingers that a change will happen. I am okay with them not allowing 2 checked bags today people really should travel with 1. I travel to Europe + can do it with 1 checked in + 1 carryon. 2 really is excessive and if people want 2 they should pay for the 2nd one. I think this should be mandatory with all airlines. I actually believe that much luggage in the front of the plane is a hazard to all of us.
I too have been a loyal SW customer for many years. I would not fly with another airline. No more. I’ve already booked my next trip, using up most of my rewards points. Seeking another airline for travel. A smart one will swoop in and grab SW’s customers by offering some of their expired perks. Even if it’s 1st bag flys free. Offer something! They’ll come in droves!!
I have flown nothing but Southwest for 30 plus years. Now thanks to this new greedy BS I’ll be looking for another carrier
Flown nothing but SW except to destinations they didn’t serve for over 30 years. Flying out of their home of Dallas, I put up with the Wright Amendment which often was a big inconvenience, then rejoiced when it was repealed, all the way until today. Loaded with points and a companion pass for years, I’m not leaving…yet. We still get our free bags until they take away A and A+ benefits. SW said they’re changing because we (the customers) asked for it! I doubt it. At least no one asked me! Only change we’d be enthusiastic about is a wider seat Business Class at a reasonable price. That’s not going to happen, but we’ll stick with SW until they join Branif, et al in Airline Heaven…or is it Airline Hell?