Okay, it’s time to talk about Southwest Airlines and all these changes the airline has been making recently.
Southwest at MCO
I’ve been a huge fan of Southwest for a long time. My home airport is Memphis, and Southwest is one of the few airlines with non-stop flights to Orlando (for visiting Disney World, of course). It’s also one of the few airlines that offers flights into Long Beach Airport, my preferred airport when I want to visit Disneyland. So the big news right now is about Southwest changing its seating policy by offering assigned seats for the first time in the airline’s history. But I’m still pretty ticked off about its previous change…and y’all know where I’m going with this, right?
So, as of right now, you can book assigned seats on Southwest flights. The airline has been known for its open seating policy, where you’re assigned a number that indicates the order that you board the flight — but you don’t know where you’re sitting until you pick a seat on the plane. That will change on January 27th, 2026, with assigned seating, and you can now book those assigned seats. And of course, there are options to pay extra for extra legroom or preferred seats (like every other airline).
Premium Seating on ©Southwest Airlines
Okay, so that’s bad enough, knowing that Southwest is now trying the same money grab with seating that every other airline is pretty much already doing. But I’m still not okay with the previous change the airline made: getting rid of free checked bags. Southwest started charging for checked bags in May, and it hasn’t been the same since.
Bags no longer fly free
Now, Southwest has a history of basing its entire marketing and advertising around “Bags Fly Free.” You’d see it on billboards, in advertisements, on the airline’s luggage carts at the airport, and everywhere else. It was the one thing Southwest was doing that set it apart from every other airline. But now, the airline has changed its tune and will start charging $35 each way for each checked bag.
©Southwest Airlines
So why am I so mad? Well, Southwest seemed to have done a complete 180 on something that it always prided itself on: offering free checked bags. The airline built a lot of its identity around “Bags Fly Free,” and even when it started making changes (like the assigned seating), the public was assured that free bags would remain. So not only did Southwest betray its own brand, but it also betrayed its customers.
Southwest betrayed itself
In betraying its own brand, Southwest took the one thing that separated it from other airlines and got rid of it. Now, Southwest is no different than any other airline, and it has no unique selling point (or USP for you marketing nerds). Southwest can no longer stand out over other airlines.
Southwest
However, Southwest also garnered a lot of loyalty from customers for refusing to bend to the nickel and diming for premium seating and checked bags that other airlines gave into years ago. Southwest went out of its way to tell its customer that it was always on their side. Now, Southwest has betrayed its customers. That betrayal hurts because we always thought Southwest was the airline of the people, but it feels like that’s no longer the case.
Southwest plane at Long Beach Airport
Granted, there are ways to get around the new checked bag fees: you can book a more expensive premium fare that includes checked bags, use a Rapid Rewards credit card, or earn Elite status. Yep, two of those three options require spending more money with the airline.
So, thanks, but no thanks, Southwest. You will no longer be the airline I look at first when it comes to finding fares.
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“Read the Room, Southwest.” The Internet ROASTS Southwest Airlines Over Its New Bag Policy
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What do you think of Southwest’s new policies? Sound off in the comments!
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There’s an easy fix. If you really like flying southwest for its routes, get a southwest Visa card. Then your bag will fly free again!
I couldn’t agree more. What a terrible business move on their part. Why would you invite competition? Instead of being the uniquely affordable airline, now they’re just ordinary like all the other ones.
Heard and seconded. I used to book solely on Southwest Airlines without even looking at other airline sites due to the 2 free checked bags police and the open seating policy (I could avoid sitting by potentially screaming babies or seat kicking toddlers and easily bring my WDW souvenir purchases home). Now that they are just like every other airlines, I shop everywhere else first. Last month I used a different airline for my trip to Cancun, even though SW flew there. The honeymoon is over.
I agree, for the first time in 20 years I have booked a flight with another airline because the prices that Southwest was charging for a one way flight was outrageous. I also will now be comparing flights before I book.
I am with you. Southwest has lost my family in this process. I/we only fly a few times a year, but having to pay for our “Bags Fly Free” is quite expensive. No longer number one choice of airlines.
I flew to St. Louis this past weekend on SWA. Since I was in St. Louis for only a couple of days, I took a carry on to avoid the bag fee. I was not alone in this. SWA finally had to start asking for passengers on both my legs to check the carry on at the gate because the flights were 100% full and there was not enough space in the overhead bins. There are some restrictions with the “gate check” – no lithium batters, no car keys and no medications in the gate checked bag. You will also have to pick it up in baggage claim, but it flies free. No thank you, I kept my bag and found bin space.
Regarding the credit card, there is a “hidden charge” of $99/year (it is declared in the offer but in small print) to be able to put the card in your wallet. That is an increase from a few months ago when it was $69/year. You do get bonus miles after you spend so much money in a specified time period (there a multiple offers from SWA), so basically you are paying for bonus miles.
Maybe SWA’s new motto should be “We are not Frontier! At least, not yet.”