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Southwest Airlines (LUV+8.45%) is ending its beloved policy that lets every customer bring two free checked bags onboard, the company said Tuesday.
In a statement announcing “changes to drive revenue growth and reward its most loyal customers,” Southwest said it will only offer two free checked bags to Rapid Rewards A-List Preferred Members and customers traveling on Business Select. A-List members, Rapid Rewards credit card holders, and select other customers will be offered one free checked bag. Southwest, which recently announced a hiring freeze after a series of layoffs, said all other customers will have to pay to check bags.
The changes, which go into effect May 28, mark a significant shift for the company. It comes a few months after the seventh-largest airline in the world by revenue announced the end of its other most recognizable perk: open seating. That policy is set to end in the first half of 2026.
“We have tremendous opportunity to meet current and future Customer needs, attract new Customer segments we don’t compete for today, and return to the levels of profitability that both we and our Shareholders expect,” Southwest CEO Bob Jordan said. “We will do all this while remaining focused on what’s made us strong — our People and the authentic, friendly, and award-winning Customer Service only they can provide.”
Airline industry analyst Henry Harteveldt, of Atmosphere Research Group, had harsh words for the policy changes. “This is how you destroy a brand. This is how you destroy customer preference. This is how you destroy loyalty. And this, I think, is going to send Southwest into a financial tailspin,” he told CBS News. “Southwest, with these changes, becomes just another airline.”
The changes are a big shift from the CEO’s remarks in September, where he said “bags will still fly free,” in part because it matters to much to customers.
“It’s the third thing customers look for after fare and schedule: Bags fly free, on us,” Jordan said at the time. “Ninety-seven percent are people who are aware of our policies. So it’s a huge consumer advantage. So bags will absolutely fly free.”
While the CEO didn’t rule out ever changing the policy at the time, he said late last year that “consumer preferences change, but from everything that we see, there’s no reason to reconsider this at all, especially right now.”
Harteveldt said the airline is essentially throwing mud in the face of its customers. “You are telling almost all of your customers, ‘Your business doesn’t matter to us anymore,’” he said. “We are watching an airline self-destruct. This is the equivalent of deliberately sailing a ship into an iceberg.”