Southwest Airlines used to be known for its Bags Fly Free policy, but the airline has abandoned the beloved perk that set it apart. Now, as with pretty much every other carrier, you have to pay to check bags.
Unsurprisingly, this has created a lot of problems. Customers are pretty mad about the whole situation, and Southwest has been running into a host of issues implementing the policy, including one major new problem that has customers vowing to switch airlines.
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Southwest Airlines has big problems implementing new luggage policy
Southwest Airlines' carry-on policy change has been a problem from day one.
Among the issues that were created by the policy change, Southwest had no easy way to collect payments online for checked bags. This led to reports of a mother being told she should have sent her 9-year-old to camp with a credit card if she wanted her to be able to bring her luggage home.
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New challenges also arose as more people began to bring carry-ons, which led to Southwest gate-checking more bags and causing more customer dissatisfaction. In some cases, bags were checked when overhead bins weren't even full.
Southwest Airlines has a questionable policy about what counts as a carry-on
Now, however, the airline has gone a step further and seems to be struggling with the very definition of a carry-on bag. This has led to a situation where Southwest made a policy that seems, on its face, pretty ridiculous.
The issue involved X user Keith Harley, Jr. who posted, “I just had a crazy experience on your flight! Your gate attendant did not allow me on the plane, because I had a picture in my hand that was an 8×10 piece of paper basically. She said it was considered a third item! Really? Bad Service.”
Now, it's easy to assume that this was just an agent who was confused about whether a picture should count, and to brush it off as a one-time error. But, it turns out that it's not.
Southwest Airlines officially classifies a photograph as a carry-on item
While you might expect Southwest to tweet its apologies for the mix-up about a picture counting as a carry-on, that is not what happened.
Instead, the airline replied, “Good afternoon, Keith. We're sorry about any confusion with our carryon policy. You may carry on one bag and one personal item. If the photo was an additional item to the two mentioned, it would be considered a third carryon. Please know you can always put it in one of your carryon items if you wish.”
Related: Southwest Airlines cancels hundreds of flights from July to Sept.
This is not the only tiny item that Southwest treats as a carry-on, either.
The airline's official carry-on policy also oddly lists a “small camera” as a carry-on item, along with other items like a “purse (including crossbody bags), briefcase, laptop computer case, backpack, [and] pillow.”
Southwest Airline's policy makes little sense
Unsurprisingly, customers weren't thrilled about Southwest's response, with replies to Southwest's X post stating that it is “nonsense” and “absolute lunacy,” and numerous posters vowing to switch to other airlines.
As Gary Leff of View from the Wing explains, “This makes no sense,” since “if it doesn’t take up space in the overhead or underneath the seat in front of you, it’s not a carry-on.”
Related: TSA is stopping passengers for an incredibly embarrassing reason
The flyer's photo, or a flyer's small camera, is not going to take up space on the plane, and there is literally no reason it should count as a carry-on — other than to make it possible for Southwest to charge extra fees to customers and to continue to destroy its brand reputation in service of goals that don't benefit the airline in the long run.
“Southwest is working really hard to eliminate any reminders that this used to be the airline that was for the people,” said noted travel writer and TheStreet Co-Editor-in-Chief Daniel Kline. “It has clearly become an airline managing for the bottom line so its executives can keep their jobs.”
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