Heartbroken: The Fall of a Sky-High Brand

Over the past year, we’ve heard about the coming changes to Southwest Airlines. There are, of course, the biggies (baggage charges; assigned seats). Some announcements, however, have flown under the relative radar (additional seat charge for plus-size fliers; more international travel, including flights to Iceland & Taiwan).

As most, if not all, updates have officially begun, the reviews are mixed on the “new” Southwest experience. And, as one might imagine, the comments have been as seasoned as the Maui Monk pretzels the flight attendants hand out.

Many of the complaints are about paid checked luggage, longer boarding times, less overhead bin space, inability to switch seats on the plane (even if the desired seat is empty), and other concerns.

As I write this, industry news suggests Southwest Airlines will make early adjustments to the aforementioned assigned seating system due to strong (and negative) customer feedback. I envision these changes to be the first, but not the last. The real question is will they be the first of many?

I’ve now flown Southwest once professionally (alone) and once personally (with family) in the few weeks. What I can say is I haven’t yet felt the pain points several others have mentioned.

Maybe I will one day! Perhaps because I’m a Rapid Rewards member who is also A-List with Companion Pass and a Southwest credit card holder, I’m insulated. Or could it just simply be my dumb luck in a sample size of only two?

Regardless, so far I’ve boarded in group three (of eight) every time. I’ve enjoyed the seat I chose online months prior. And I’ve not had any issue getting the bin space right above me; not even when the wife & kids were with me and we brought along four carryons.

Still, it must be stated - and this is the bigger problem - despite my positive circumstances thus far, there is no doubt that one of the travel industry’s flagship companies, and one of America’s most beloved and admired brands, has done (irreparable?) damage to its identity.

As someone who himself works for an iconic brand, I appreciate how near and dear trade name and dress mean to customer sentiment. It’s an unspoken promise from the organization to the customers. And, really, to audiences in general. If that promise is broken, then those who could rarely, if ever, be swayed by the competition now become up for grabs. You see, for every groaning Southwest flier, there’s an exec at American, Delta, and United rubbing their hands together like Birdman [Google it if you don’t know the meme reference].

I’m curious to see how this will play out over time. Some will remain true to Southwest. Others will walk away, whether for principle reasons or because they were fence riders to begin with … even during the company’s glory days. Then there are those that never got down with the brand, be it location (they’re in a part of the country where Southwest wasn’t present), the so-called (and exaggerated) “cattle call” open-seating policy, or lack of foreign travel — the latter of which hindering one’s ability to rack up frequent flier points that could then be used to fly overseas (admittedly a great perk when you’re using the miles earned from business travel to be converted into personal vacation).

I can’t speak for anyone else, no matter which of those buckets someone lands. For me, I’m one of the many people who always felt the warm & fuzzies for Southwest. Since 2006, I’ve been brand loyal. I was proud to fly them, and I openly questioned (and mocked) folks who flew the big three instead of “The LUV Airline”. So, it actually hurts me to see my preferred carrier, who I legit invested in emotionally, go to the dark side. At this point, I can only hope for the best, pray they don’t lose too much of what made them special, and, in true Southwest fashion, keep an open heart.