This week we’re talking again about Southwest Airlines, which shocked some of its loyal customers about two weeks ago by getting rid of its long-advertised “bags fly free” perk. But that’s just one in a series of changes Southwest is making that make it seem, well, less like Southwest and more like traditional legacy airlines: Adding extra-legroom seats, eliminating open seating and updating its loyalty strategy.

In this episode, host Rebecca Tobin, airlines editor Robert Silk and Hospitio founder Brad Beakley break down some of the changes and ask -- why? How will flyers benefit? What else does Southwest need to do to compete with the Big Three? And what will it take for Southwest to retain the “love?” 

This episode was recorded March 21 and has been edited for length and clarity. 

Episode sponsor:

This episode is sponsored by The TTC Tour Brands https://agents.ttc.com/login

Related links:

Southwest CEO: No competitive advantage from free checked bags https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Airline-News/Southwest-scraps-free-checked-bags-analysis

Southwest quietly reduces reward points for lowest fareshttps://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Airline-News/Southwest-quietly-cuts-reward-points-for-lowest-fares

Frontier taunts Southwest with free-checked-bags promotion https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Airline-News/Frontier-taunts-Southwest-checked-bag-promotion

The Dallas Observer op/ed on Southwest: https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/dallas-southwest-airlines-gets-worse-with-end-of-free-bag-policy-21906895

Is Southwest's planned ascent too slow for key investor? https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Airline-News/Is-Southwest-planned-ascent-too-slow-for-Elliott

Brad Beakley's consultancy firm Hospitio https://www.hospitio.com/

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