Southwest’s decision to charge for checked bags feels like a loss, but in reality, passengers were always paying for them—just in ways they didn’t see.
The problem from what I’ve seen is everyone turns into an asshole trying to fight for overhead bin space to avoid the fee, and I felt less stressed on SWA. That was the tradeoff in my experience.
I'm a hypocrite in this sense because I got the co-branded credit card specifically for the checked bag perk. My annoyance with Southwest was always the opening seating policy, which I think created a lot of jerks trying to save seats.
Something that surprises me is the convergent evolution of the various airline offerings. Base fare + pay for perks, that makes sense. But there's little to no innovation in the space: no "pay by pound" for checked bags, no "guaranteed reserved overhead bin space" option, no childfree flights, no "pay a little extra so the middle seat next to you doesn't get taken", no airline implementing super efficient boarding/deplaning (unboarding?) processes... It's a large enough market that some A/B testing could be done without incurring a heavy cost, yet none of the players seem to be willing to try anything novel at all. Can't be a market disrupter without getting a little creative.
I chalk it up to risk aversion. I don't think any of the Big 3 want to be the first to do something too different and the budget airlines are struggling to be profitable.
The problem from what I’ve seen is everyone turns into an asshole trying to fight for overhead bin space to avoid the fee, and I felt less stressed on SWA. That was the tradeoff in my experience.
I'm a hypocrite in this sense because I got the co-branded credit card specifically for the checked bag perk. My annoyance with Southwest was always the opening seating policy, which I think created a lot of jerks trying to save seats.
"There ain't no such thing as a free checked bag." TANSTAAFCB. Maybe it's time for economist to update the old saying for the 21st Century!
I have a feeling we can become incredibly annoying with this one!
TANSTAAFL
Something that surprises me is the convergent evolution of the various airline offerings. Base fare + pay for perks, that makes sense. But there's little to no innovation in the space: no "pay by pound" for checked bags, no "guaranteed reserved overhead bin space" option, no childfree flights, no "pay a little extra so the middle seat next to you doesn't get taken", no airline implementing super efficient boarding/deplaning (unboarding?) processes... It's a large enough market that some A/B testing could be done without incurring a heavy cost, yet none of the players seem to be willing to try anything novel at all. Can't be a market disrupter without getting a little creative.
Great post, as usual.
I chalk it up to risk aversion. I don't think any of the Big 3 want to be the first to do something too different and the budget airlines are struggling to be profitable.
Social media is also "free"...
Thanks for your posts . A layperson understanding of economics is badly needed across the country . Keep writing