Is Southwest charging for bags? Amtrak seemingly trolls airline's policy change by claiming they're the "only ones doing free baggage"

On Wednesday, March 12, 2025, Amtrak trolled a new Southwest Airlines policy by claiming they were the "only ones doing free baggage" in an X post.

Amtrak's X post comes after the airline company Southwest announced on Tuesday, March 11, that they would start charging for checked bags on all flights. Per CNBC News, the airline, which was established 58 years ago in 1967, ended its free bag policy due to the pressure exerted by activist Elliot Investment Management, which has called for changes to its business model.

The management firm took a stake in Southwest in 2024 and moved on to win five board seats in its push for the airline to make quick changes. The new changes made in the recent announcement will take effect in three months. The new policy states that purchasing a flight ticket of all fare classes (except for the top-tier class) from the airline on or after May 28 will require a payment to get bags checked.

The airline has also outlined an exception to this rule, which will be reserved for the elite frequent flyers. These customers will be given an A-List Preferred status and can check two bags for free, just like before.

There is also a new class of A-List Level members, for whom the offer is halved, with one free checked bag. If anyone is a Southwest credit card owner, they'll also enjoy one free checked bag.

The airline company has had "Two bags fly free" as a trademark registered as theirs on its website. But now, the new policy might be a sign of a major change that might bring about passenger perks for customers throughout the industry. The airline has yet to disclose how much it plans to charge passengers to get their bags checked. At the moment, Delta Airlines charges $35 for a standard check-in bag.

Meanwhile, the shares of Southwest marked an uptick on Tuesday, rising over 8% after the announcement of paid baggage was made. Other large carriers simultaneously noticed a fall in their shares alongside the broader market.

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Airline executives see Southwest's new policy as an opportunity

In light of the new policy announcement, the changes the stock market has noticed have led to new speculations. President Glen Hauenstein, an airline executive, called it an opportunity in an interview conference on the same day, saying:

"I think, clearly, there are some customers who [chose Southwest] because of that, and now those customers are up for grabs. We'll see how that plays out over the next period of time as they continue to implement multiple changes to their products."

Meanwhile, Scott Kirby, the CEO of United Airlines, compared it to "the slaying of a sacred cow," claiming that it would affect the lower-paying customers the most. Kirby continued:

"I view it as a big deal because it's more — it feels more financially driven — a results-driven airline than it's ever been before."

The Southwest leaders have also spoken on the matter. Bob Jordan, the CEO, brought up the company's long-standing policy at an earnings call last year, saying:

"After fare and schedule, bags fly free is cited as the No. 1 issue in terms of why customers choose Southwest."

He also highlighted that the new policy will promote their co-branded credit card, adding the element of its commercial reach. Jordan added that the company was monitoring customer booking behavior through new channels, like metasearch. The result concluded that their bundled offering with free bags wasn't reaping the same benefits for the company anymore.

Per the company, the new changes are predicted to add $800 million to the funds (before interest and taxes) in 2025 and can rise to $1.7 billion in the next year. Meanwhile, the company's COO, Andrew Watterson, told CNBC:

"What's changed is that we've come to realize that we need more revenue to cover our costs. We think that these changes that we're announcing today will lead to less of that share shift than would have been the case otherwise."

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Some of Southwest's new changes have also transformed policies, like changeable tickets and open seating.