Southwest won’t debut bag fees because it would lose $1 billion per year
Photo Credit: Bag all the talk about Southwest dumping its Bags Fly Free policy. It is not going to happen anytime soon. Southwest Airlines
Skift Take
Southwest officials aren't do-gooders when it comes to their lack of bag fees. They just know it is good for business.
Southwest's very corporate new ad campaign doesn't have a trace of maverick in it, and that led the Los Angeles Times and some analysts to speculate that the airline may give up on its first two checked bags for free policy.
We're not buying it.
Yes, the new campaign is geared to show that the Southwest brand is much more than free checked bags. And, the airline clearly doesn't worship at the alter of its Bags Fly Free policy.
Southwest charges plenty of fees for early check-in, excess bags, and pets, but the airline calculates that charging for the first two checked bags would roll back its market share gains over the last few years.
And, instead of bringing in new revenue, charging for the first two checked bags would actually cost Southwest about $1 billion a
