SWA will remain ONLY airline to not charge for bags

[swamt]

I think this was a good thing.  No chance SWA will risk the chance of losing some customers over mere bag fees.  This is good news for the customers, not so good for non-revs and rampers loading the aircraft.  But I still feel when the numbers dictate to start charging for bags then SWA will more than likely be the cheapest when it comes to it, maybe charging only half of what all the other airlines are charging...
 
Southwest Airlines Has No Plans To Start Charging For Checked Bags

 

[Birdman]

There's no doubt WN is doing it right by remaining a unique player in a very competitive industry. Consider how much free advertising, and as a result revenue, we garner from consumer advocacy and news organizations who chide other airlines for the bevy of fees imposed.

 

[does this plane go to paris]

"There's no doubt WN is doing it right..."

i believe that this is a case where other airlines are tripping over dollars to get pennies.  Why alieniate someone who needs to pack to go on vacation, a business trip or what ever may be the case just so that more folks are either overstuffing carryon bags ot taking some pretty big bags up to the gate area just to get them checked for free?  I think of this as a hotel that charges a rock bottom room rate and then charges extra for a bed.  Instead of nickeling and dime the Customer to death, a smart airline executive would say, "hey, if you aren't checking in any bags, I'll give you a better seat or let you board first, or here, have a drink on us."  I know that when this garbage first began, there were calls from Wall Street for LUV to begin charging and Kelly stated that because LUV wasn't charging for bags, Customers where booking LUV in droves. 

 

[swamt]

The advertising has already started in some areas about being the only carrier to fly bags for free.  But also expect to see a big campaign during the up coming opening season of the pro and college football. SWA even beats Spirit for some flights out of Dallas because of all those "little" fees that add up by the time you swipe your card to pay for it all is higher than SWA.  Yea the original sale price of ticket only may very well be cheaper, but by the time you add in all the fees so many times SWA still remains the cheapest.  Most all leisure travelers carry an average of 2 bags and 2 carry-ons. Depending upon the airline and the weight of luggage it could be just as high in fees as the cost of the ticket and some times even more.  
SWA just needs to keep it as is for a few more years, keep the new customers coming in from the other airlines that are all charging bag fees, then after a few years SWA could start charging very little to half what the others charge and maybe they still won't leave.  But I still don't think it would be worth it in the long run to do...

 

[WorldTraveler]

What? Eliminate the competition and then start charging just a little in a couple years?

WN has trained you well. It is precisely for the reason you noted that WN cannot and will not be allowed to dominate any market since they could easily change course down the road

WN's average fares in many markets where WN is dominant are above average compared to their competition. Not everyone needs to or does check bags or has to pay to do so and yet WN's fares are no less for those passengers

 

[robbedagain]

smart move on SW part.   

 

[topDawg]

i believe that this is a case where other airlines are tripping over dollars to get pennies.  Why alieniate someone who needs to pack to go on vacation, a business trip or what ever may be the case just so that more folks are either overstuffing carryon bags ot taking some pretty big bags up to the gate area just to get them checked for free?  I think of this as a hotel that charges a rock bottom room rate and then charges extra for a bed.  Instead of nickeling and dime the Customer to death, a smart airline executive would say, "hey, if you aren't checking in any bags, I'll give you a better seat or let you board first, or here, have a drink on us."  I know that when this garbage first began, there were calls from Wall Street for LUV to begin charging and Kelly stated that because LUV wasn't charging for bags, Customers where booking LUV in droves. 

airlines are breaking pax boarding records as we speak and more and more airlines are adding fees and un-bundling fares more and more so just who is being alienated? 
 

I think this was a good thing.  No chance SWA will risk the chance of losing some customers over mere bag fees.  This is good news for the customers, not so good for non-revs and rampers loading the aircraft.  But I still feel when the numbers dictate to start charging for bags then SWA will more than likely be the cheapest when it comes to it, maybe charging only half of what all the other airlines are charging...
 
Southwest Airlines Has No Plans To Start Charging For Checked Bags

a mere fee that is adding billions (with a b) to companies revenue numbers? If that is "mere" to you i would hate to see what a big deal is. 
 
 
having said that it is going to be a PR nightmare when it happens but it going to happen. Same thing with jetBlue, Wall street isn't going to like watching all those other airlines bring in billions of extra revenue that WN is missing out on. 
Its also been pretty well known that WN can not add extra fees with its current reservation system (but was going to be changed) anyways. 
 
Finally, I am not sure exactly what customers you guys are worried about losing. Its fly or walk/drive/take a bus once WN adds the fees. 

 

[Kev3188]

This is good news for the customers, not so good for non-revs and rampers loading the aircraft.

Not really. As someone on the ramp, I would much rather have almost everything coming out of the T-point than have to get 25-35 bags out of the jetway...

 

[WorldTraveler]

what continually gets lost in this discussion is that federal taxes on fees and add on services are LOWER than for air transportation. While WN may get marketing mileage out of not charging for bags, they get less profit from the same amount of revenue compared to a carrier that charges a lower fare and then adds on fees to bring the fare up to the same point.

and WN's average fares in markets where it is the dominant carrier are higher than in similar markets operated by legacy carriers.

WN's no bag fee advantage is in competitive markets where in many cases its fares are lower than the rest of its system and that its competitors.

dawg is right that the US airlines are having no problem filling planes right now. Gary Kelly said himself that WN sees more risk in adding bag fees and losing passengers than in the revenue they are potentially losing.

WN also is in a vast expansion of its network beyond its traditional strength markets and the no bag fee message works well in those markets, including in Latin America.

and while Kev is right that jetway check bags are not fun, legacy carrier passengers do successfully carry on a huge amount of baggage that they would otherwise check if there was no charge. The reason why WN just hired or is hiring a bunch of rampers is because the company knows that it costs money to handle all of those bags and they have no choice but to hire additional people rather than give larger raises to the ones they already have who could work with smaller crews if passengers carried more bags on the plane.

 

[eolesen]

Not really. As someone on the ramp, I would much rather have almost everything coming out of the T-point than have to get 25-35 bags out of the jetway...

Agree, but I still think it's just a matter of Gary making the best of crappy automation. They *can't* charge for bags right now.

Come end of the year (when *is* that PSS migration going to be finished?...), automation won't be the stumbling block.

 

[topDawg]

Agree, but I still think it's just a matter of Gary making the best of crappy automation. They *can't* charge for bags right now.

Come end of the year (when *is* that PSS migration going to be finished?...), automation won't be the stumbling block.

and just like every other airline that "isn't going to charge for bags" i fully expect WN and Kelly to start singing a different tune


Or Wall street will do what they did to jetBlue and bring some in who will.

 

[FrugalFlyerv2.0]

WN free bags allowance is 2 bags.
I suppose they could eventually change to 1 bag free and charge for the other bag(s).

 

[eolesen]

and just like every other airline that "isn't going to charge for bags" i fully expect WN and Kelly to start singing a different tune

Or Wall street will do what they did to jetBlue and bring some in who will.

They'll only do it if Wall Street or shareholders push them into the corner. As a shareholder/investor, it's hard to argue that WN isn't leaving some money on the table, and I'd say it's becoming even harder to try and argue that people are primarily booking WN because of the bag policy, especially when you see growth at carriers like G4, NK and F9 who nickle & dime their customers to a level that would make Ryanair blush.

 

[jimntx]

It will be interesting to see what effect the report from the Congressional Committee is going to have on the bag fees, if any.  I just heard a brief mention on the TV news of a report coming out of some Congressional Committee slamming the airlines for hidden fees, unnecessary bag charges, etc.
 
You can tell it's coming up on election year.  The boys are starting to pretend that they are actually doing something in D.C. beside stabbing the "other side" (whichever it might be) in the back.

 

[WorldTraveler]

The airlines have been disclosing bag fees for years.

Congress and the DOJ can't get over the fact that airlines are businesses, the industry was deregulated, and are free to charge for their services and make a profit comparable to other industries.f

your last line is absolutely spot on.

DOT data shows that the industry collected 2% each for baggage and reservation fees so the notion that it is a huge amount of revenue is not accurate.