‘Hurting service for profit’: Sunport travelers react to Southwest ending free checked bags

Ruidoso couple Ron and Jill Duncan were Southwest Airlines loyalists, but after learning the company’s plans to charge for checked bags, they might be looking for a new air carrier.

“This is just forcing more people to carry on bags, which delays seating and getting off of the plane,” Ron Duncan said, noting that he and his wife often travel to the West Coast. “If I could, I would tell Southwest they are hurting service (for) profit.”

Albuquerque’s largest airline carrier, Southwest Airlines, announced Tuesday it would charge customers for checked baggage starting May 28, ending a long-standing policy that differentiated it from its competitors.

According to the airline’s website, travelers who have Business Select fares or are A-List Preferred members will be exempt from the policy change. The website did not indicate how much the baggage fees would be.

“We have a tremendous opportunity to meet current and future customer needs, attract new customer segments we don’t compete for today and return to the levels of profitability that both we and our shareholders expect,” said Bob Jordan, CEO of Southwest, in a news release.

Rachel Martin, an Albuquerque resident who was traveling Wednesday, said she’s always preferred American Airlines. But Wednesday morning, flying Southwest, Martin said the change for the Dallas-based airline “just kind of puts them in alignment with all the other airlines.”

“It makes them just like everybody else, so I don’t really know how that’s going to help them out,” Martin said. “The free bags was something that made them unique in the past.”

Locals expressing their opinions on the social media app Reddit were far less forgiving.

“This is the only reason I stick with Southwest,” one person wrote on the Albuquerque Reddit group. “I guess I’ll use up my reward points this year on a trip and move to another carrier where I could at least use my points to travel out of the country.”

But the change is just one of many made by Southwest in recent months.

In February, the airline announced the first mass layoffs in its nearly 60 years of business, reducing its workforce by roughly 1,750 workers in leadership ranks. Southwest said at the time the changes were part of a plan to minimize costs. The company last year also announced it would end open-seating.

The latest change from Southwest will have an outsized impact on people flying to and from the Sunport, as the airline accounts for more than 51% of the market share, according to the airport.

“The bag thing was definitely something that was really attractive, especially when you’re going in groups or with multiple people,” Martin said. “It’ll be interesting to see what their future holds.”