Southwest Airlines will add a fee for no-shows starting in 2013.
Jeff Roberson, The Associated Press
Southwest Airlines' new fee policy will charge no-show costs for customers who don't cancel tickets before a flight. With the slogan "Bags Fly Free," Southwest's reputation of no-nonsense fees may be changing for customers, according to an article by Bloomberg.
Chief Executive Officer Gary Kelly didn't dismiss the idea of other added-on fees in the future, although he did say it was unlikely for them to happen in 2013.
“We don’t have a first-bag fee idea for 2013 or a change fee,” Kelly said to Bloomberg.
Currently, Southwest still continues to fly two bags for free, with unspecified increased prices on a third bag.
The new revenue expected from these fees — an expected $100 million annually — will double the company's earnings.
“This (fee) is pretty industry standard,” Kelly said. “Customers understand we could all benefit from the opportunity to resell a seat. Once the airplane takes off and it’s empty, we can’t ever resell it.”
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Maybe I am missing something-but this sounds very reasonable to me.As long as the customer cancels before the flight, there is no charge. If they don't cancel, they are charged for the ticket. Makes sense to me.
Wow, anthor scam to make people pay for something they don't receive. I can seee charging a small processing fee but assessing the entire ticket price would be outrageous. If they want to do that, anytime they over-book a flight the over-booked More..
I'm really getting tired of the bizarre and ridiculous and frivolous ways airlines can tack stuff on to their pricing. There should be consumer protection law requiring all airlines to sell a defined package of what an airline trip should be, More..