Southwest Airlines has historically had such a fan club that it once scored at the top of a poll on airline food even though it had no meal service. With the changes already underway at Southwest, that loyalty may be headed for a crash landing.
Announcements in recent months marked sharp turns for the airline, now under pressure from a hedge fund that’s found its way aboard. They’ve included the airline’s first red-eye flights, possibly a win, and the announced end of its iconic no-assigned-seating policy—and now the biggest shocker of all, the end of two free checked bags per customer.
Under the new plans, which include creating what amounts to a basic economy class and reduced loyalty points for several ticket classes, only its very top-tier loyalty members will keep the two-bag eligibility. Southwest credit card holders and a lower tier of loyalty gets one free bag and everyone else will pay a so-far-unspecified fee per bag. Also, flight credits will now have a one-year expiration date, or six months for credits on the cheapest fares.
According to Southwest CEO Bob Jordan, “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.”
According to probably nearly everyone else, Southwest now has the opportunity to seem like every other airline around.
