Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly has been questioned a great number of instances over the previous decade irrespective of whether the airline may sign up for its rivals in charging for checked luggage.

His answers have ranged from under no circumstances say under no circumstances to, in modern decades, an emphatic defense of its luggage-fly-totally free coverage in the facial area of billions in profits rivals accumulate from checked-bag costs. At least a few occasions, he went so far as to say luggage will stay free of charge as extensive as he’s CEO.

So Wednesday’s announcement that Kelly is stepping down as CEO in February raises a vital query for travelers: will baggage nevertheless fly cost-free?

Kelly’s alternative, longtime Southwest government Bob Jordan, had a quick reply in a brief interview with Usa Now.

“I will say emphatically that we will not charge for bags,” Jordan mentioned. “And there will be no (ticket) alter fees.”

Kelly joked that that he is not retiring or leaving the company as he will remain on as govt chairman right until at minimum 2026.

“Which is a person of the beauties of this: Bob and I are extremely well aligned with our values, with our appreciate for the company, with our embrace of the Southwest tradition and surely our attitudes towards buyer service,” Kelly claimed. “You will not see any bag costs.”

Regardless of references to a new era for Southwest in a memo despatched to personnel about the management transform, Jordan stated the corporation won’t system drastic improvements. That was extra a reference to the airline’s next 50 yrs following its 50th anniversary celebration last 7 days, he said.

“it’s not like we’re modifying the DNA of the company or the brand or one thing like that,” he reported.

May Southwest (lastly) swap to assigned seats?

Southwest has at times examined changing a different a single of its quirks: open up seating. Alternatively of assigning seats, the airline assigns numbered boarding positions in 3 teams primarily based on the time of on line check-in and other components, which includes recurrent flyer position, ticket form or the payment of an early boarding cost. Passengers are totally free to pick any open seat when they board.

Just one of the assigned-seating reports, which Jordan led, led to the development of the current boarding technique in 2007. “You spoke and we listened! Southwest Airways suggests open seating is right here to continue to be,” the airline mentioned in asserting the selection.

Jordan mentioned “each and every single time” time the airline has researched modifying its seating policy consumers “usually prefer open up seating.”

He didn’t rule out testing assigned seat all over again, placing it in the similar camp as other opportunity changes forward, like the addition of new intercontinental routes. Southwest would not provide Europe, for instance, concentrating its international company in the Caribbean and Mexico.

“If it was clear that the want (for assigned seating) was there, that this was necessary to our product, we would completely glance at that,” Jordan said.

Kelly, who has earlier acknowledged Southwest’s open boarding turns off some probable shoppers and explained the airline’s new reservations process presents it the capacity to assign seats, said at the second, even so: “There’s no work on that.”

Is this seat taken?Southwest seat conserving drives some passengers crazy 

Kelly and Jordan stated Southwest is nevertheless performing on new solutions or products and services that will boost earnings, hush-hush attempts they consistently touted just before the pandemic with no furnishing any aspects.

‘Very handsome opportunities’: Southwest aggressively plotting techniques to increase profits

On Wednesday, Kelly stated the jobs are nonetheless not completely ready for “prime time” but mentioned two of them suit very well with the resurgence of leisure journey. Southwest, like most airways, has included flights to a number of holiday vacation places to cater to pandemic travel developments.

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