Southwest Airlines breaks silence on Companion Pass disappearing

Southwest has been on a bumpy road since melting down in 2022, stranding thousands of passengers and earning itself a $140 million fine from the Department of Justice.

After coping with a series of supplier challenges, with Boeing delaying the delivery of planes due to safety concerns, Southwest was also forced to reduce flight capacity.

Then, Elliott Investment Management acquired an 11% stake in the airline and began demanding big changes, which have been, to say the least, fairly unpopular.

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In fact, in recent months, Southwest has abandoned some of its fans' favorite features, including its longstanding “Bags Fly Free” policy, which was one of its major market differentiators and a crucial source of goodwill with flyers.

With Southwest also giving up on open seating, devoted Southwest flyers have been getting very fed up with the airline cutting benefits and services that people came to count on, becoming just another airline focused on maximizing fees for every part of air travel.

That’s why customers were so upset recently when the airline sent out a survey hinting that it might end one of its other most popular features – this time a part of its loyalty program.

Will fans be left disappointed with Southwest again?

Image source: Tim Boyle/Getty Images

Is Southwest planning on ruining its loyalty program, too?

Rumors started circulating in recent days that Southwest was going to ruin its loyalty program as part of what appears to be a continued effort to destroy all that was beloved about the brand.

These rumors, prompted by a survey shared with some program members, floated the idea of a five-tiered loyalty program that would allow access to Companion Passes only for people within the program’s top levels.

The survey suggested that those with the highest mileage might be able to access multiple companion seat benefits, while those with a lower status would get none at all.

This would be a huge change from the existing policy. Currently, when Companion Pass holders purchase or redeem points for flights, they earn the ability to select one person who can fly free (excluding taxes and fees) with them.

This offer provides major savings, and right now, flyers can earn Companion Passes without elite status. In fact, as the airline’s website explains:

“To qualify, simply fly 100 qualifying one-way flights or earn 135,000 qualifying points in a calendar year. You’ll earn a Companion Pass for the following full calendar year, plus the remainder of the year in which you earned it. For even more flexibility, Companion Pass Members can change their designated Companion up to three times each calendar year,” the airline stated on its site.

If Southwest restricted access only to top-tier members, many flyers who currently enjoy the Companion Pass benefits would likely become unable to access them.

Southwest speaks out on the rumors

Although there was a clear reason for passengers to panic about the possible end of the Companion Pass based on the survey questions, the airline has now spoken out and provided at least some reassurance.

“There is no work underway to change our industry-leading loyalty program, including Companion Pass,” according to a statement made by a Southwest Airlines spokesperson to Parade.

“We’ll continue our efforts to track preferences and sentiment on many aspects of our loyalty program to ensure we remain competitive and know what our Customers and Rapid Rewards Members value most.”

Of course, this doesn’t mean Southwest won’t move forward with the unpopular change in the future.

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But if the survey was a trial balloon to see how upset customers would get, the reaction from flyers will hopefully prompt the airline to think twice about eliminating yet another feature that made Southwest stand out from competitors.