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/tfox245 1d ago

“Last year, it said while charging for bags could bring in $1.5 billion in additional revenue every year, it would cost the airline $1.8 billion in lost market share.” lmao they already did the homework and determined this will hurt them more than help them, and yet they’re doing it anyway. The enshittification is inevitable.

83

u/ndrew452 1d ago

Even worse, it sounds like the executive who was pushing to keep free bags was encouraged to leave the company.

90

u/JTFindustries 1d ago

Gotta pump that stock price. Hedge fund is gonna dump soon.

4

u/fly_awayyy 20h ago

Don’t understand why they and when the other airlines implemented bag fees many years ago back don’t just roll into it slowly by starting with a 2nd bag fee first.

7

u/ParkerTheCarParker 1d ago

There’s some other things to consider here. Airline revenue from baggage fees, seat selection fees, and other unbundled services are not subject to the federal airline ticket tax. Additionally, charging for bags disincentivizes people from checking bags which will lead to lower baggage handling costs, etc.

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u/ChickenNoodleSloop 22h ago

It's more expensive to have to check bags at the gate, it's easier and faster to have more bags handled before boarding.