Southwest wouldn't really start charging for bags — right?

18.09.2024 - 14:13 / thepointsguy.com / Bob Jordan

Southwest Airlines insists its hallmark "bags fly free" policy is not on the chopping block, even as the carrier prepares to unveil scores of details in the coming days about sweeping changes to some of its longest-standing policies.

Next week, executives at the Dallas-based carrier are expected to delve into the specifics of a massive commercial overhaul revealed this summer — one that will see Southwest end its hallmark open-seating policy and add extra-legroom seats for the first time.

Exactly when will assigned seating hit Southwest booking channels? What will its unique boarding process look like in this new era? How many new extra-legroom seats will be on Southwest planes in the future — and what type of access will A-List elite status members get?

We should know it all soon: Company leaders in July promised to detail the nuts and bolts of the changes when they hold their annual meeting with investors.

That meeting is set for next week, and is sure to be of the utmost interest for airline industry insiders and frequent Southwest flyers alike.

Speaking to analysts in July, CEO Bob Jordan was frank about the scope of the changes planned for the company as it aims to boost its lagging financials.

"You've got to be willing to challenge everything that's not fundamental to you as an airline," Jordan said.

But that hard look at the business has also fueled plenty of speculation over the airline's popular free-baggage policy, even as executives insist it's here to stay.

After Southwest announced the end of its 50-year-old open-seating policy in July, droves of TPG readers commented on the story on our Facebook page, with some speculating that new add-on fees for luggage might be the next proverbial "shoe to drop."

"Soon they will start charging for bags," one reader predicted.

Longtime aviation journalist and self-proclaimed Southwest loyalist Benét J. Wilson offered her own take in an op-ed penned in the wake of the airline's announcement about assigned seating.

"At this point it feels like anything is possible," Wilson wrote. "Only time will tell what the carrier's evolution will look like and what it will become."

To be clear, Southwest executives were adamant in July: No bag fees are in the works.

In fact, free bags are among the top three reasons customs choose Southwest, Jordan told analysts, contrasting the airline's lenient policy with the widespread (and rising) checked bag fees at its competitors — some of which also charge customers for full-size carry-on bags on certain tickets.

Yet, in August, a Bloomberg report said the carrier started surveying customers on their appetite for paid bags, reigniting speculation.

Then, this month, the company went through additional upheaval when leadership