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/

This week we&rsquo;re talking again about Southwest Airlines, which shocked some of its loyal customers about two weeks ago by getting rid of its long-advertised &ldquo;bags fly free&rdquo; perk. But that&rsquo;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 &ldquo;love?&rdquo;&nbsp;
This episode was recorded March 21 and has been edited for length and clarity.&nbsp;
Episode sponsor: 
This episode is sponsored by The TTC Tour Brands <a href="https://agents.ttc.com/login">https://agents.ttc.com/login</a>
Related links: 
Southwest CEO: No competitive advantage from free checked bags <a href="https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Airline-News/Southwest-scraps-free-checked-bags-analysis">https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Airline-News/Southwest-scraps-free-checked-bags-analysis</a>
Southwest quietly reduces reward points for lowest <a href="fareshttps://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Airline-News/Southwest-quietly-cuts-reward-points-for-lowest-fares">fareshttps://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Airline-News/Southwest-quietly-cuts-reward-points-for-lowest-fares</a>
Frontier taunts Southwest with free-checked-bags promotion <a href="https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Airline-News/Frontier-taunts-Southwest-checked-bag-promotion">https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Airline-News/Frontier-taunts-Southwest-checked-bag-promotion</a>
The Dallas Observer op/ed on Southwest: <a href="https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/dallas-southwest-airlines-gets-worse-with-end-of-free-bag-policy-21906895">https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/dallas-southwest-airlines-gets-worse-with-end-of-free-bag-policy-21906895</a>
Is Southwest's planned ascent too slow for key investor?&nbsp;<a href="https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Airline-News/Is-Southwest-planned-ascent-too-slow-for-Elliott">https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Airline-News/Is-Southwest-planned-ascent-too-slow-for-Elliott</a>
Brad Beakley's consultancy firm Hospitio <a href="https://www.hospitio.com/">https://www.hospitio.com/</a>

Travel Weekly's team of reporters, editors and contributors explore ideas, share experiences and provide insight into what they’ve uncovered while reporting on some of the biggest trends in travel.

Travel Weekly's team of reporters, editors and contributors explore ideas, share experiences and provide insight into what they&rsquo;ve uncovered while reporting on some of the biggest trends in travel.

Hosted by Rebecca Tobin, managing editor of Travel Weekly

The Folo by Travel Weekly

Travel Weekly's team of reporters, editors and contributors take a deep dive into the biggest travel story of the week. 

In each episode, we invite invite our team of journalists and their trusted sources to delve into major travel trends that industry insiders, or just travelers, want to know about.  

You may be wondering: Why the Folo? Well, a folo -- f o l o -- is a journalism term, a kind of shorthand that basically means to follow a breaking news story with more in depth reporting and analysis. And at the Folo podcast, that's what we do. 

Hosted by Travel Weekly managing editor Rebecca Tobin.

Travel Weekly's team of reporters, editors and contributors take a deep dive into the biggest travel story of the week.&nbsp;
In each episode, we invite invite our team of journalists and their trusted sources to delve into major travel trends that industry insiders, or just travelers, want to know about. &nbsp;
You may be wondering: Why the Folo? Well, a folo -- f o l o -- is a journalism term, a kind of shorthand that basically means to follow a breaking news story with more in depth reporting and analysis. And at the Folo podcast, that's what we do.&nbsp;
Hosted by Travel Weekly managing editor Rebecca Tobin.