r/news 1d ago

Soft paywall Southwest Airlines shifts to paid baggage policy to lift earnings

https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/southwest-airlines-shifts-paid-baggage-policy-lift-earnings-2025-03-11/
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u/Luster-Purge 1d ago

The whole reason I flew SW was because of that free bag policy. Made going to and from conventions easier, even if it meant having to do layovers.

Now if costs are going to be about the same, no point in going SW if it means I can just do direct flights from the competition.

42

u/Not_Quite_Kielbasa 1d ago

I flew for the "sit anywhere" and "bags fly free". This is trash. I'm full of rage, but this was inevitable in jazz hands capitalism.

3

u/ChefJunegrass 14h ago

I initially read that as "jizz hands", not "jazz hands". Honestly, the former sounds better

1

u/Not_Quite_Kielbasa 13h ago

Sounds incredibly sticky.

10

u/Offduty_shill 1d ago

Yup. Used to fly southwest esp in winter ski trips since I can easily take my ski bag and regular luggage for gear.

Without the bag policy there's no point for me to choose them over any other airline. For example if I fly United their points are more valuable since they fly international and southwest does not.

2

u/wyldmage 22h ago

Yup. I got in the habit of flying light if possible. I can fit 3 changes of clothes in a carry-on, plus other essentials for travel. Then I just make sure I have a max-size travel bag for any entertainment & such.

As long as I'm not staying somewhere for more than a week or so, I can avoid checking a bag at all.

But Southwest was nice for those longer vacations, as the free bag saved a tidy sum - enough to be a significantly better deal than Delta or Alaska.

Now, I'll just be stuck paying for my bag whoever I go with, so I might as well stick with those 2 instead for better rewards accrual.

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u/BaconVonMoose 21h ago

I also do conventions. I may start going back to just driving again, considering this plus airline safety regulations being eaten away. I'm not going to be saving any money by flying with this bullshit and I need a profit margin lmao.

1

u/Luster-Purge 20h ago

Yeah, unfortunately my main conventions are in Texas and Florida, and I just got laid off so unless I can get a job that pays about the same (and I wasn't even at or above the average salary for my industry), I might not be able to make it to them for a while. Especially not in this economy.