Southwest Airlines to Charge for Checked Bags! Breaking news this morning! Southwest Airlines said Tuesday that it will begin charging customers a fee to check bags, getting rid of a long standing practice that executives had described last fall as key to differentiating the budget carrier from its rivals.
Southwest, which built years of advertising campaigns around its policy of letting passengers check up to 2 bags for free, said people who haven’t either reached the upper tiers of its Rapid Rewards loyalty program, bought a business class ticket or hold the airline’s credit card will have to pay for checked bags.
The airline did not outline the fee schedule but said the new policy would start with May 28 bookings.
“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 Airlines CEO Bob Jordan said in a statement.
Less than a year ago, the Dallas-based airline announced it was doing away with another tradition, the open-boarding system it has used for more than 50 years. Southwest expects to begin operating flights with passengers in assigned seats next year.
Will this detour you from flying Southwest now or will you still be a customer? Tell us about it in the comments!
Michele also contributes theme park news for Fox 35 Orlando 11pm news and on the radio on WDBO.
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