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Southwest Rejects Call for Checked-Bag Fees

lreynolds
Frequent Flyer A

by Ben Mutzabaugh

Don't look for new checked bag fees on Southwest, even as Delta today became the latest airline to add a new fee on checked luggage (see below). Air Transport World (ATW) writes that Southwest CEO Gary Kelly "last week strongly rejected Wall Street advice that the (low-cost carrier) begin charging for checked baggage to generate more revenue. During a conference call to discuss SWA's third consecutive quarterly loss, multiple analysts pushed Kelly to follow other US carriers and implement baggage fees. But he insisted the move would drive away customers."

to read more, visit: http://blogs.usatoday.com/sky/2009/04/southwest-rejects-call-for-checkedbag-fees.html

3 Comments
Rich_Huang
Explorer C
Don't listen to those self-righteous Wall Street analysts. They are the same people who drove the world into the mess in the first place and now they are giving advice to businesses suffering from the mess they created? Gary Kelly is right not to charge customers for checked baggages, which will become another SWA "trade-mark" competitive advantage against other airlines. Charging customers for checked baggages may not drive your very loyal customers away but you will certainly lose your great opportunity to, once again, differentiate SWA from its competitors and lure new customers from other airlines. Don't do it. Wall Street people do not take no-frill flights so they do not know what's going on.
markincolo
Explorer B
Hold the line and don't charge those bag fees! I especially love that you don't charge change fees as well. Consider how "right" Wall Street has been recently. They know so much about Mortgaged Backed Securities, don't they? Clearly, they don't know how to run an airline either!
cwurster
Explorer C
I was just listening to an NPR piece about how SW may have to start charging baggage fees to cover losses. I hope not. I am a loyal SW business and pleasure customer, and I appreciate being able to check my bag without a fee. I wish more would do so. The biggest obstacle to SW's famed quick turnaround are passengers who insist on hauling multiple bags on-board, then delaying the boarding process while they search for overhead bin space. Why? In over a dozen years of flying, mostly on SW, I have NEVER lost a bag, and I can count on one hand the number of times my bag has been delayed. Keep up the good work.