Southwest CEO justifies controversial shift to ‘Bags Fly Free' policy
The answer likely won't come as a surprise to travelers still frustrated over the airline's decision to end its five-decades-long 'bags fly free' policy. 'I watch it constantly. Daily,' Jordan said. In March, the company announced it would start charging customers for checked bags for the first time in the company's history.
The day of the announcement, the stock surged 21 percent, boosting the value of Jordan's own shares by an estimated $871,000 . In a statement to DailyMail.com, a Southwest spokesperson defended Jordan's approach.
But that alignment — between stock performance and customer satisfaction — hasn't been so clear to many travelers. The company's bag-checking reversal came after several other transformational shifts, including new basic economy fare tiers , the end of open seating, and the first mass layoff in Southwest's history .
Many of the changes followed mounting pressure from activist investor Elliott Investment Management, which took a $2 billion stake in the airline in June 2024. Elliott publicly criticized Southwest's 'outdated' business model — and called for Jordan's removal. Jordan has framed the changes as a response to post-pandemic customer preferences.
'If you don't follow your customers, you look up one day and your products just aren't attractive any longer,' he told the New York Times. 'The move to bag fees is really about choice.'
On social media, dozens of customers criticized the CEO's comments about customer choice, saying they came off as 'tone deaf' or even 'gaslighting.' 'Southwest used to be an employee-first airline, then they were customer-first,' one flier wrote in a top-voted Reddit post. 'Now they're shareholder-first.'
In March, communications specialists told DailyMail.com that the company's baggage fee rollout was especially rough on customers. 'Every company is focused on the bottom line,' Eric Wein, a California-based communications executive, said.
'But it's surprising that Southwest seemed to have lost sight of its customer loyalty and brand appeal in making some of these rather necessary financial moves.' But despite the pushback, the financial upside to the policy changes has been hard to ignore.
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