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How bad has it been for Southwest Airlines lately? The situation has been so bad that it’s reopening old wounds for Dallas basketball fans.
Dallas-based airline Southwest recently announced that it would begin charging baggage fees. This is one of several recent revenue-targeting adjustments that surprised longtime fans of the company. The changes, which were sparked by activist investors in part, may help the business but they have elicited strong responses from people used to the way Southwest did business.
Over at The Wall Street Journal, a recent column likened the events to a funeral, a headline saying "We Gather Here Today to Mourn Southwest." Even Amtrak joined the pile-on, the railway line writing on social media platform X that "we’re the only ones doing free baggage now."
On X, the company's team has been working to respond to frustrated or confused customers. "We know this update to our checked baggage policy is a big change for our Customers," one rep recently wrote. "We hear you and understand you’re disappointed."
The company also wanted to draw attention to a recent Texas punching-bag.
"It’s not like we traded Luka…” the company said Thursday on Instagram, a post referring to the hometown Mavericks' recent trade of star Luka Dončić to LeBron James' Los Angeles Lakers. Not everyone was amused by the joke.
One commenter wrote: “If I could dislike one post, it would be this.”
