Southwest will shift away from its beloved two free checked bags policy, a move that CEO Bob Jordan said many employees prefer.
During a recent J.P. Morgan investors conference, Jordan added that there’s “a lot of excitement” among its workforce about the airline’s recent changes. This also includes a move to assigned seating later this year.
“Our employees wanted to move to assigned seating because it clears up the job in the gate of policing boarding and policing pre-boards and those kinds of things,” he stated.
Beginning in May, only select Southwest passengers will be able to check bags for free, including Southwest credit cardholders. The airline has never charged for the first two bags in its nearly 60-year history.
The Dallas-based carrier highlighted research that showed 97% of customers were aware of the policy.
“A lot of the policy changes that we’re making, it’s very clear that our employees want them,” Jordan said. “… Our employees want to move – many of them – want to move to a bag fee because they’re dealing with the 2X bag volume as an example. So many of the policies that we’re implementing are exactly what our employees are looking for the company to do.”
Last month, the airline – facing ongoing pressure from activist investor Elliott – announced its first-ever mass layoff: 1,750 corporate jobs were axed. “Now you take something that’s difficult like the layoff, obviously very difficult or just the pace of change at Southwest Airlines,” Jordan added.
“… I wear the heart on my lapel, but it’s deeply embedded in who I am at the time that I’ve been at Southwest for 37 years. We love our people. We love each other. We’re a family,” he said.
