Southwest Airlines flyers warned of final day before decades-old policy change
Today is the last day to book a Southwest Airlines flight without incurring baggage fees, as the airline ends its long-standing policy of free checked bags.
Announced in March, the new policy, effective for flights booked from Wednesday onwards, marks a shift from Southwest's traditional approach. Previously, the airline allowed passengers to check up to two bags for free, a policy heavily promoted in its advertising campaigns.
Under the revised rules, only Rapid Rewards loyalty program members, business class ticket holders, and those with a Southwest credit card will continue to enjoy complimentary checked bags. This change means other passengers will now have to pay for the previously free service.
Southwest will continue to offer two free checked bags to Rapid Rewards A-List preferred members and customers traveling on Business Select fares, and one free checked bag to A-List members and other select customers. Passengers with Rapid Rewards credit cards will receive a credit for one checked bag.
People who don't qualify for those categories will get charged to check bags. The airline said in March that it also would roll out a new, basic fare on its lowest priced tickets when the change takes effect.
The airline estimated in September that charging bag fees would bring in about $1.5 billion a year but cost the airline $1.8 billion in lost business from customers who chose to fly Southwest because of its generous baggage allowance.
Southwest did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its new checked bag fees, but most major airlines typically charge between $35 and $40 for checked bags.
Another policy that will take effect on Wednesday is Southwest requiring passengers to keep their portable chargers in plain sight while using them because of concerns about the growing number of lithium-ion battery fires.
These aren't the only changes at Southwest. The Dallas airline previously announced that it was leaving behind another Southwest tradition, the open-boarding system it has used for more than 50 years. Southwest expects to begin operating flights with passengers in assigned seats next year.
The airline also said last year that it would charge customers extra for more legroom and offer red-eye flights.
Southwest has struggled recently and is under pressure from activist investors to boost profits and revenue. The airline reached a truce in October with hedge fund Elliott Investment Management to avoid a proxy fight, but Elliott won several seats on the company's board.
The airline announced in February that it was eliminating 1,750 jobs, or 15% of its corporate workforce, in the first major layoffs in the company's 53-year history.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
15 minutes ago
- Reuters
Global alarms rise as China's critical mineral export ban takes hold
June 3 (Reuters) - Alarm over China's stranglehold on critical minerals grew on Tuesday as global automakers joined their U.S. counterparts to complain that restrictions by China on exports of rare earth alloys, mixtures and magnets could cause production delays and outages without a quick solution. German automakers became the latest to warn that China's export restrictions threaten to shut down production and rattle their local economies, following a similar complaint from an Indian EV maker last week. China's decision in April to suspend exports of a wide range of critical minerals and magnets has upended the supply chains central to automakers, aerospace manufacturers, semiconductor companies and military contractors around the world. The move underscores China's dominance of the critical mineral industry and is seen as leverage by China in its ongoing trade war with U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump has sought to redefine the trading relationship with the U.S.' top economic rival China by imposing steep tariffs on billions of dollars of imported goods in hopes of narrowing a wide trade deficit and bringing back lost manufacturing. Trump imposed tariffs as high as 145% against China only to scale them back after stock, bond and currency markets revolted over the sweeping nature of the levies. China has responded with its own tariffs and is leveraging its dominance in key supply chains to persuade Trump to back down. Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to talk this week and the export ban is expected to be high on the agenda. Shipments of the magnets, essential for assembling everything from cars and drones to robots and missiles, have been halted at many Chinese ports while the Chinese government drafts a new regulatory system. Once in place, the new system could permanently prevent supplies from reaching certain companies, including American military contractors. The suspension has triggered anxiety in corporate boardrooms and nations' capitals - from Tokyo to Washington - as officials scrambled to identify limited alternative options amid fears that production of new automobiles and other items could grind to a halt by summer's end. "If the situation is not changed quickly, production delays and even production outages can no longer be ruled out," Hildegard Mueller, head of Germany's auto lobby, told Reuters on Tuesday. Frank Fannon, a minerals industry consultant and former U.S. assistant secretary of state for energy resources during Trump's first term, said the global disruptions are not shocking to those paying attention. 'I don't think anyone should be surprised how this is playing out. We have a production challenge (in the U.S.) and we need to leverage our whole of government approach to secure resources and ramp up domestic capability as soon as possible. The time horizon to do this was yesterday,' Fannon. Diplomats, automakers and other executives from India, Japan and Europe were urgently seeking meetings with Beijing officials to push for faster approval of rare earth magnet exports, sources told Reuters, as shortages threatened to halt global supply chains. A business delegation from Japan will visit Beijing in early June to meet the Ministry of Commerce over the curbs and European diplomats from countries with big auto industries have also sought "emergency" meetings with Chinese officials in recent weeks, Reuters reported. India, where Bajaj Auto ( opens new tab warned that any further delays in securing the supply of rare earth magnets from China could "seriously impact" electric vehicle production, is organizing a trip for auto executives in the next two to three weeks. In May, the head of the trade group representing General Motors (GM.N), opens new tab, Toyota (7203.T), opens new tab, Volkswagen ( opens new tab, Hyundai ( opens new tab and other major automakers raised similar concerns in a letter to the Trump administration. "Without reliable access to these elements and magnets, automotive suppliers will be unable to produce critical automotive components, including automatic transmissions, throttle bodies, alternators, various motors, sensors, seat belts, speakers, lights, motors, power steering, and cameras," the Alliance for Automotive Innovation wrote in the letter.
Reuters
15 minutes ago
- Reuters
Report: Steelers unlikely to trade for TE Jonnu Smith
June 3 - The Pittsburgh Steelers are not expected to acquire tight end Jonnu Smith from the Miami Dolphins, ESPN reported on Tuesday. ESPN also reported that the Steelers will host free agent wide receiver Gabriel Davis on Thursday. As for Smith, Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel voiced his support of the tight end on Tuesday and said trading him is not the focus of the team. Smith, 29, set a franchise record for receptions (88) and receiving yards (884) by a tight end last season. He also had eight touchdowns in 17 games (six starts) en route to being selected to the Pro Bowl for the first time in his career. Smith has totaled 307 catches for 3,307 yards and 28 touchdowns in 124 career games (84 starts) with the Tennessee Titans, New England Patriots, Atlanta Falcons and Dolphins. He was selected by the Titans in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft. Davis was cut by the Jacksonville Jaguars after one season on May 7 in a move that saw the team absorb a $20.3 million dead cap hit. Davis, 26, caught 20 passes for 239 yards and two touchdowns in 10 games (nine starts) last season before sustaining a torn meniscus in his left knee on Nov. 17 in a 52-6 loss to the Detroit Lions. Davis had 163 catches for 2,730 yards and 27 touchdowns in 64 games (47 starts) with the Buffalo Bills. He was selected by the Bills in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft out of UCF. The Steelers acquired wide receiver DK Metcalf from the Seattle Seahawks on March 9. The two-time Pro Bowl selection then signed a four-year, $132 million deal with Pittsburgh. The Steelers also shipped wide receiver George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys on May 7 in exchange for draft-pick compensation. Going to Dallas along with Pickens is a sixth-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, while the Steelers received a third-round selection in 2026 and a fifth-round pick in 2027. The Steelers still are awaiting an answer from free-agent quarterback Aaron Rodgers as to whether he will sign with Pittsburgh. --Field Level Media
Daily Mail
17 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
CBS stalwart reveals 'the truth' about edited Kamala Harris interview that Trump is suing the network over
Veteran CBS correspondent Lesley Stahl has lashed out in 'anger' at her corporate overloads potentially settling Donald Trump 's $20 billion lawsuit, arguing edits of Kamala Harris' 'word salad' were done to save time rather than deceive its audience. Speaking candidly on The New Yorker Radio Hour, Stahl, 83, addressed the controversy over an October 2024 60 Minutes segment featuring Kamala Harris, 60, which Trump alleges was edited to make the then-Vice President appear more coherent and electable. Trump, 78, sued CBS - the parent company of '60 minutes' - just days before the 2024 presidential election for $20 billion. He and his lawyers claim that the show edited an interview with Harris in a way that hurt his 2024 campaign. However, according to Stahl, the editing choices stemmed not from political bias but from routine time constraints. 'There was a very long answer,' Stahl explained. '"60 Minutes" ran one part of the answer in Bill [Whitaker]'s piece, and "Face the Nation" chose another part of the same answer to run on theirs. We are under time constraints, and this was done for time. 'We edit to keep our pieces down to a certain length. And this is what Mr. Trump sued over,' the former Face the Nation anchor continued. Stahl's comments directly dispute Trump's accusation that CBS engaged in deceptive editing to aid Harris's public image during a critical election period. 'What he said was that you made clear what had actually been a word salad,' New Yorker journalist, David Remnick, who conducted Stahl's interview recounted, summarizing Trump's claim. 'In other words, what he was accusing '60 Minutes' of doing was trying to make Kamala Harris look better,' Remnick added. But, the seasoned journalist emphasized that both programs - 60 Minutes and Face the Nation - merely used different portions of the same answer to accommodate their differing formats. 'That what we did. We just ran two different halves of the same answer,' she affirmed. At the heart of the legal dispute is Trump's assertion that CBS's editorial decisions were politically motivated. However, Stahl views the lawsuit as little more than a pressure tactic. 'What is really behind it, in a nutshell, is [an effort] to chill us,' she said. 'There aren't any damages. He accused us of editing Kamala Harris in a way to help her win the election. But he won the election.' Despite the lawsuit's seemingly flimsy legal foundation - Stahl flatly called it 'a frivolous lawsuit' - CBS is reportedly engaged in settlement negotiations. Shari Redstone, chair of Paramount Global and a key decision-maker in the network's corporate hierarchy, is said to be open to compromise, according to the New Yorker. Instead of fighting the lawsuit, Redstone wants to settle to stay on good terms with the President while waiting for FCC approval of a major deal. On Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Paramount offered Trump $15 million to settle, but his team rejected it, demanding at least $25 million and a formal apology. But, Redstone's openness to settling has since raised eyebrows within the newsroom, even as Stahl downplays internal discord. 'They're in negotiations to settle this lawsuit. Shari Redstone seems willing to compromise. I have to think that the newsroom at '60 Minutes' must be in incredible turmoil,' Remnick probed. 'Turmoil is too strong a word,' Stahl replied sternly. 'That suggests we almost couldn't function, but that's not true.' Still, the situation has stirred unease among some staffers, particularly with Bill Owens, the former executive producer of 60 Minutes, who has since left the outlet. Stahl explained that her former 'hero' ditched the outlet after 37 years because 'he was being asked to either not run pieces or to change parts of the stories.' A CBS spokesperson told the New Yorker that no stories have been blocked by Paramount or CBS management. Stahl has since expressed 'anger' at her corporate overlords. 'To have a news organization come under corporate pressure - to have a news organization told by a corporation, "Do this, do that" with your story, "change this, change that," "don't run that piece" - I mean, it steps on the First Amendment, it steps on the freedom of the press. 'It steps on what we stand for. It makes me question whether any corporation should own a news operation. It is very disconcerting. As I said, we have had pressure before, in earlier owners. And yet...' However, the CBS correspondent stood firm in her journalistic duty to the people, telling the New Yorker she hopes her higher-ups 'hold the freedom of the press up as a beacon.' 'I'm just, frankly, and this is being a little Pollyannaish, hoping that [Larry's son] David Ellison and the people he brings in to run his organization hold the freedom of the press up as a beacon, that they understand the importance of allowing us to be independent and do our jobs.' 'That would be the best outcome,' she added.
