How Effective is the Bags Fly Free Program?

[Headfake14]

We (JB) don't charge for first bag. But we charge for 2nd 3rd ect...I agree with that. I don't like first bag. I j/s on big D twice a week...it's obnoxious how many carryons there are since the 1st checked bag fee began...same with Tranny. On a 717 the other day...I swear there was at least 30 carryon bags NOT making onto the plane after the cabin bulked out. Causes boarding time to take waaaay too long.

 

[N1atEcon]

There are only 25 double wides in your neighborhood. Have to drop your fly to count past 20?

Oooooo you got me there with that zinger. Sniff sniff

 

[Max Powers]

Yes but what if you have no baggage and fly that way often.......You are going to be subsidizing that teen age chic with 100 pounds of crap she insists on taking with her when she goes to visit her dad for the summer. I hear frequent flyers who travel light say the love the bag fees. Allows them a cheaper ticket so the ones that insist on taking all the cargo pay their fair share. If swa airlines charged for bags they could lower the overall fair prices.

 

[jonjuan]

If swa airlines charged for bags they could lower the overall fair prices.

Shhhhhhhh....don't tell this to the wn pax.

 

[jonjuan]

The only people that dislike it are the other airlines. They always use the same excuse "look at how much revenue you are missing out on" by not screwing your customer. They want SWA to charge so it will make them look better/even the playing field. They fail to understand SWA's basic concept from day one. It is not about gouging the customer for every nickel. It is about getting them from point A to point B, safely, efficiently and on time at the lowest cost. That is why when SWA goes into a market they call it the SWA effect. Not the bend over and take it legacy effect. I cannot count how many people I have spoken to that hate all the new fees most carriers are coming up with.

Ummmmm, whaaa? The other airlines luv it as it adds to their overall net income margin. You know, the total profits which most major airlines have been making more than southwest since the bag fees (or is NIM above your intel level?) You need a primer from Heb and Gary, young man, as your "getting them from point A to point B, safely, efficiently and on time at the lowest cost" is well past the southwest model.
Check out the earnings charts (if you're able to decipher them.)
http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/10/alaska-air-group-tops-earnings.html

 

[Full of LUV]

The only people that dislike it are the other airlines. They always use the same excuse "look at how much revenue you are missing out on" by not screwing your customer. They want SWA to charge so it will make them look better/even the playing field. They fail to understand SWA's basic concept from day one. It is not about gouging the customer for every nickel. It is about getting them from point A to point B, safely, efficiently and on time at the lowest cost. That is why when SWA goes into a market they call it the SWA effect. Not the bend over and take it legacy effect. I cannot count how many people I have spoken to that hate all the new fees most carriers are coming up with.

What you fail to understand, this HAS to be SWA's position now.... they have staked out that claim. If SWA were to institute baggage fees now, they would look like complete followers, no different/better than the rest. If everyone else truly thought they were losing money over bag fees they could drop them in an instant. Time will tell who has the correct path. I am glad that you are so confident in SWA's management prowess though, it's very comforting.

 

[Just thinking]

Average one way fare for AAI last quarter was $92. Average for SWA $132. AAI charges $20 for bags. SWA no feee. AAI allows people to change their flight for no charge if seats are available (I have even see them REFUND a portion of the fare.) SWA charges up to $150. I think SWA has a handle on the revenue generation fomula.

 

[ProFracPilot]

The bag fee debate is an interesting one. A couple of observations:

Legacy airlines are barely able, if at all, to keep on time departures due to handling bags in the cabin / jetway when the flight is full (certainly the case at my home airport). With capacity reduced, flights are always full and this is routine. I find it humorous that the FA's start announcing with boarding Group 1 how everyone must get their 10 pounds of crap into the 5 pound bin quickly to assure an on-time departure. Their management created this horrendous bottleneck and expect them to manage it on the back end of the boarding process by checking bags. It doesn't work well, frustrates everyone involved, and makes a bad experience (riding in typical coach class) even worse.

If you're flying USAir (which I my company books me on frequently), they have figured out this bottleneck to some degree, and have begun allowing you to check your bag to your destination - prior to boarding. If you choose to do so, bags fly for FREE. So take your bag through security and if you're in one of the last boarding groups or just don't want to schlep your bag, check it at that point. At least they're trying to improve the boarding / on time performance, even if it risks loss of some revenue.

When it is my choice of which airline I fly, I'll take SWA any day of the week and twice on Sunday. Their pricing (from my home airport) is almost always competitive to my destinations of choice, and their boarding process is efficient - made even more so by an obvious lack of excess bags trying to enter the cabin. Not to mention the cabin crew is almost always in a good mood.

YMMV.

 

[chase]

Average one way fare for AAI last quarter was $92. Average for SWA $132. AAI charges $20 for bags. SWA no feee. AAI allows people to change their flight for no charge if seats are available (I have even see them REFUND a portion of the fare.) SWA charges up to $150. I think SWA has a handle on the revenue generation fomula.

Southwest Fees for changing flight:

Non-refundable ticket change fee: free
Reservation by phone fee: free

Airtran fees for changing flight:
Non-refundable ticket change fee: $75
Reservation by phone fee: $15

Source: FairCompare website

There is a difference in a "change fee" vs. being charged more for a higher price ticket on a later or earlier flight based upon the original ticket price. Southwest does not sell "stand-by" tickets allowing those who purchase lower price tickets to fly on higher priced flights. The pax on most occasions will be required to pay the difference between their original ticket and the higher fare; that can range from less than $10 to several hundred simply depending upon the distance and price paid by the consumer at the time of purchase. Merely because the plane has empty seats doesn't permit the individual to "upgrade" to the more convenient flight but many times the additional cost is waived depending upon circumstances. SWA states very clearly that a request for an earlier flight may result in an increase in the cost of the ticket. Moving a flight from one day to the next or "banking" the unused flight for later use results in no "fees" being assessed unlike other carriers.

 

[KigAir]

For the flying I do, I find that the total cost for a SWA ticket is usually more than other airlines even when I factor in the cost of checking one bag.

What I find interesting is that some airlines don't charge for checked bags if you are going to/from Europe.