- Southwest Airlines should charge passengers to check the bags for the first time.
- The new policy takes effect from May 28 and is the Last fundraising movement of the airline.
- No later than September, the airline said it would not pay customers for the bags recorded.
Southwest Airlines announced Tuesday that it would start loading the passengers to check the bags for the first time.
The free verification offer of two bags is a popular base for the airline. “Two Fly Free bags” are listed as a brand recorded on the Southwest website.
But from May 28, passengers who are not part of a loyalty program or not traveling on its most expensive price, Business Select, will have to pay to check a bag.
Frequent leaflets with the “preferred A-List” status will always get two bags, while members of level A-List and Southwest credit card Holders will get a free verified bag.
The airline said that this decision was intended to “deepen and reward loyalty” for its “most committed customers”.
He added that he would also introduce a basic economic rate, with additional options for attributed seats and additional legs space.
Luggage load is the last decision of the upheaval by the budgetary carrier of his commercial model – because he faced the pressure of the investment company activist Management Elliott. Only six months ago, the airline said that it would not start to charge bags.
In July, the southwest ended in a long time Open seat modelThis allowed passengers to choose their embarkation seats. It also announced its intention to allow customers to pay seats with an additional leg space.
But “two free flying bags” seemed to be an untouchable advantage.
In a call of results the same month, CEO Bob Jordan told analysts that the airline did not provide “at this stage” to start invoicing checkered bags.
“After the price and the calendar, the bags attack free of charge are mentioned as number 1 to find out why customers choose the South West,” he added.
The airline also held firm on politics because it described a three -year plan in September.
He said research has shown that politics distinguished Southwest from its competitors, and the abolition of the demand would be reduced and “would prevail over all the income gains created by imposing and collecting bag costs”.
Like its previous movements, the introduction of checkered bag costs reports the Southwest in accordance with its competitors.
According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, US airlines made $ 5.5 billion in luggage fees during the first three quarters of 2024.