It’s no secret that Southwest Airlines has undergone a bit of a shift in identity over the past several months as the airline has made several high-profile changes in an attempt to follow customer demand and offer more premium options and upgrades for travelers. Now, it sounds like Southwest is taking active steps toward another high-profile change.
Recent Southwest Airlines Changes
- Ended its “bags fly free” policy back in May
- Will move to an assigned seating model in January
- Moving away from its point-to-point model
- Changed its credit card rewards and annual fee
- Offers complimentary WiFi for Rapid Rewards members
- More international routes
- Premium extra legroom seats
Southwest Embraces Premium Options
While Southwest Airlines has been more of a budget-friendly option for most of its existence, offering passengers free checked bags and a democratic open-seating boarding model, that has changed radically in recent months.
Back in May, Southwest officially ended its longstanding “bags fly free” option and is set to end its open seating policy next month. As part of that seating change, Southwest will begin selling premium extra legroom seats, marking the first time the airline has sold premium seats to customers.
Additionally, Southwest has discussed the possibility of expanding its international offerings and introducing new perks like airport lounges – things that typically appeal to more premium customers.
Southwest CEO Confirms Airport Lounge Plan
Over the past several months, Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan has spoken openly about the airline’s continued transformation. While he has made it very clear that changes are on the horizon and has teased some things, he has also kept his promises pretty vague.
“I’m not promising those things,” Jordan said back in September when discussing possible changes. “Everything is on the table at Southwest.”
This week, however, Jordan has broken his silence a bit and outright confirmed that the airline is “actively pursuing” a network of airport lounges.
“I think lounges would be a huge, next benefit for our customers,” Jordan said in an interview with CNBC this week. “And you [would] have a lounge network that allows you to offer that premium credit card that provides lounge access.”
While Jordan did not confirm a timeline or which airports Southwest was targeting, he did confirm that the company is working on it, saying, “It’s clear our customers want lounges, and we’re pursuing the customer.”
He made it clear that this was a promise to the customers.
“We’re gonna make sure that we have a network of lounges that meets the needs of the network that we have,” he promised.
