Southwest Airlines slammed as ‘tone deaf' for social media joke
Let the lesson be learned, social media managers: There is a time and place for jokes.
This apparently was not one of those times.
Southwest Airlines has been catching heat for its recent policy reversal. 'Allowing bags to fly free' has been a marketing tool of the company for years, but as announced earlier this week, that will no longer be true for customers purchasing the lowest-priced plane tickets.
The change begins on May 28. The airline will continue to offer two free checked bags to Rapid Rewards A-List Preferred Members as well as passengers flying on Business Select fares. One free checked bag will be allowed for A-List Members, while one checked bag will be credited for Rapid Rewards Credit Card members.
It's not clear how much it'll cost to check bags.
While customers reacted to the policy change, the Dallas-based airline took a shot at its hometown NBA team.
'It's not like we traded Luka,' an Instagram post from the Southwest Airlines account reads.
That swipe is in reference to last month's shocking NBA trade between the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Lakers that sent superstar Luka Doncic to L.A. The trade, much like the new Southwest policy, was not well received by fans in the Dallas area.
And now, the airline, which has also announced mass layoffs in the last month, is taking some punishment online.
'This is incredibly tone deaf,' a comment reads from Instagram user gkrisanic. 'I've been a loyal Southwest customer and a RR cardholder for years, but now I'm going to be exploring other options after all of these policy changes. There is really no reason to fly SW now, especially when I can find a more convenient direct flight on another airline. Super disappointed in y'all.'
'Taking a screenshot of this as it will be the thumbnail for the Harvard business review case study of destroying a brand and an entire company,' said user rappid_exposure.
'Air balling a joke like this after laying off [nearly 1,800] people is crazy,' said adamchernandez.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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