I was having a wonderful week until approximately 8:45 a.m. Central Time on Tuesday morning when a news alert announcing Southwest Airlines (SWA) will begin charging for checked bags flashed across my screen.
The end to the air carrier’s iconic and well-advertised “bags fly free” policy change was jarring for several reasons. First, it came with a promised enforcement date for flights booked on or after May 28, 2025, less than three months after the policy change was announced. Second, it came after CEO Bob Jordan said last year that “After fare and schedule, bags fly free is cited as the No. 1 issue in terms of why customers choose Southwest.”
In the name of “reaching new customers,” SWA airlines also modified its point system to ensure that anyone who books their travel through their cheaper fare tiers will earn even fewer points on their purchases than before.
The airline claims the latest change will “Drive Revenue Growth and Reward its Most Loyal Customers.” Unless you fly 40 or more times a year or agree to pay higher fares, however, you won’t get the benefit of any free baggage exceptions.
I, a dedicated defender of the red, blue, and orange brand, was so heartbroken by the decision that, contrary to my public rant about their decision to ditch open seating last year, I resolved to grieve in quiet.
Mostly. My history as a loyal customer who has possessed a Rapid Rewards number since infancy eventually pushed me to reach out to SWA in a personal capacity to voice my concerns.
In my email, I detailed how SWA had long pitched itself as a family-friendly, affordable airline with unmatched hospitality and rewards, but repeatedly made policy changes that contradicted that. I let the poor customer service agents tasked with reviewing the barrage of complaints I’m sure they received on Tuesday know that letting “fatties fly free,” ending popular pick where you plant your posterior perks, embracing wokeism, and now charging for baggage no doubt disincentivizes longtime LUV fans and flyers.
After proofreading the polite but firm paragraph, I hit send, glanced at the autoreply confirming that SWA received my report, and moved on with my day.
The last thing I expected was an answer, much less a prompt one. Yet, just over 24 hours after I lodged my complaint, I received a reply to my email. A glimmer of hope about that famous SWA customer service graced me, but it didn’t stick around long.
The response, purporting to be from a customer service agent, thanked me for “taking the time to contact us regarding our policy announcement.” By the second paragraph of what I quickly deduced to be a blanket copy-and-paste, SWA’s tone changed to that of a patronizing parent.
“We know these are big changes for our Customers — we hear you and acknowledge your frustration,” the statement read. “We don’t take making changes to our policies lightly, and these decisions were made with careful consideration.”
The email declared that SWA is determined to cater to its customer base, but noted that the benefits that built their brand in the first place would be limited to “our most loyal Customers” and “those who purchase our highest-value fare.”
SWA basically confirmed what lit a fire under me and so many other customers in the first place: To reap the benefits of the airline you best know and love, you now must buy into it.
Most would brush off that ultimatum as routine. Price hikes and policy changes? That’s showbiz, baby. But SWA has also been more than a business.
In fact, it’s practically the only airline known for going the extra mile instead of brawls or bad flying. Whether it be sweet and funny flight attendants, honor flights for veterans, or family-friendly boarding and (what used to be baggage) policies, SWA always seemed to fulfill promises to put customers first.
That’s why SWA’s disposal of that decades-long commitment by ushering in policies that punish those customers is the ultimate betrayal. And, unfortunately for the SWA employees tasked with answering phones and emails this week, no amount of corporate softspeak claiming to “acknowledge” their patrons’ feelings can soften that blow.
RIP and fly high to the SWA we all knew and loved. You will be missed.
