News that JetBlue is dropping a free checked bag for those who purchase its cheapest fares is making the rounds. Speculation had been running rampant that the airline would make such a move with a drumbeat of analysts and pundits wondering why the airline was continuing to leave money on the table by not doing so. Personally, I’ve always liked JetBlue’s model when it comes to bag fees. I think one bag is (should be) an inherent part of the travel experience and it should be included in the fare. Obviously, the rest of the airline industry in the USA disagrees with me, except Southwest. And that leads me to ponder…..will they add checked bag fees?
I don’t think there’s any near-term chance that Southwest does so. They’ve built a considerable bit of brand awareness around “bags fly free” and there may be value in that. However, as an airline with costs that aren’t exactly the lowest in the business, the revenue attraction may prove too difficult to ignore in the longer term. What’s standing between Southwest and checked bag fees? Well, there’s that “bags fly free” brand awareness I mentioned, which my very well have bought them some business. I can imagine the Twitter uproar that comes if they make a change. What else? I can’t help but wonder whether the airlines well-known antiquated IT issues prevents them from charging for bags even if they wanted to do it.
In the end, I doubt we see bag fees from Southwest anytime soon. But the perception that the airline is just leaving money on the table that it could be collecting may prove too difficult to ignore over time. What do you think?
-MJ, November 20, 2014
If they add bag and changes fees, they will be like all the other crappy airlines. Worse, actually, because they’ll be compared to Spirit which also does not offer assigned seats. At the point, I will choose based on price and schedule, and there goes any loyalty to them.
I don’t fly WN, and have no intention of ever doing so. Therefore, I really don’t have any personal stake in whether or not they add bag fees (and I don’t think they will anytime soon). Having said that, I hope they do add bag fees eventually, simply because I’d enjoy watching the s***storm on Twitter and FT. 😀
@Brian,
Hahahaha!
They will add bag fees by the end of 2016, no doubt. Kelly promised a big increase in profits (I think two or four fold) and that’s the quickest way to do it. And he didn’t rule that out as a way to do it, he just said in the near term we won’t.
Mika,
I should write a best blog comment ever post and just cc this into it! 🙂
I think Southwest needs to really drive home the message of no bag or change fees. I bet most people checking in with most airlines paying for bag fees, not liking that they have to pay for it; do not really realize in their mind that Southwest has no bag fees.
Southwest needs to understand in the purchase process why more people don’t go to Southwest unless they enjoy paying bag and change fees.
I think they need to do behavioral interviews with customers at the other airlines and find out why people aren’t flying with Southwest.
Some of it might be obfvious like route, etc.
But I really think your average person who flys 2.5 a year really does not conceptualize the free bnags when they book their ticket.
So if Southwest could just pony up and hire experts on consumer behavior who know how to influence behavior at the purchase process.
I mean, something like, and I don’t know if this is it, they take out huge adds that say for example:
Do You Like Paying Bag and Change Fees?
I wonder how that affects the purchase process more or less than:
Bags Fly Free
??
Maybe they have a tv add where it shows, and again you need to figure out what kind of figure will generate the most empathy, getting charged say several $200 change fees say for a family of 4 because they had to ccancel a flight. Maybe you show several airlines that charge the $20 fee. Then you show Southwest as the savior.
Or maybe you run some kind of promotion where if a consumer got dinged by a bag or a change fee by another airline, they send you the receipt, and you give them a Southwest credit for the amount of the fee. Maybe you give them more credit the more times they fly Southwest to encourage repeat behavior. Maybe even though its not a binding contract, you set up some kind of branding that says something like
I Promise TO Fly SWA & Not Get Dinged
Maybe hashtag #SWANoFee
Maybe the flight attendants make an announcement and ask everybody on the plane to post to Facebook and Twitter how happy they are about #SWANoFee and somehow the customers are incentivized to do this social media promoting brand awareness and the brand differentiation.
Maybe they take out a huge add on WHy DO Our Competetors Charge Bag Fees?
Or a campaign on
How I Got Screwed Over Paying Fees by (fill in the blank)
They really need to turn up the heat on the other airlines and make them explain to their customers why they have a fee that SWA doesn’t. Right now, they are really not pressuring the other airlines, and not putting any heat on them.
SO what I’m saying is SWA needs to be a hell of a lot more creative! They could really have some fun with this and drive business to SWA>