### Southwest Airlines Introduces Fee for Curbside Bag Check Amidst Policy Shifts

Southwest Airlines, once known for its transparent pricing and traveler-friendly policies, has taken another step in adding fees that may irk passengers. The Dallas-based airline, which originally marketed itself with the concept of "transfarency" implying that the ticket price covered the full cost of travel, has now started imposing charges for checking bags curbside. A sign at their Dallas Love Field hub indicates a new fee of $3 per bag for this service.

This move follows the airline's previous shifts in policy where they began charging for checked bags, introducing basic economy restrictions on tickets, and making plans to charge for seat reservations. Remarkably, this latest charge was unannounced, adding to the growing list of extra fees Southwest passengers must now navigate.

In a twist earlier this year, Southwest terminated all of its Skycaps—employees who assist with curbside check-ins—and outsourced the function to a third party, aiming for labor cost savings. At that juncture, the airline maintained that cities already using outsourced curbside check-in services did not impose any additional charges.

However, it seems that Southwest may have taken a leaf out of American Airlines' playbook. American Airlines discovered that curbside check-in could be a revenue-generating service by outsourcing to a third party and splitting the fees. The new signage at Dallas Love Field reveals that Southwest is using Bags, Inc., the same vendor employed by American Airlines for curbside check-in services.

Southwest Airlines, once a model for successful low-cost carriers worldwide, built its reputation as a simple short-haul airline offering friendly service and policies. This strategy had rendered them the most consistently profitable airline in history. However, in the wake of the pandemic which squeezed their profits, the airline appears to have diverged from its original formulas for success. Instead of reinforcing their competitive strengths, they seem to be adopting the less amiable policies of competitors like American Airlines and JetBlue.

The transformation in Southwest's approach reflects a broader trend in the aviation industry where additional fees and charges seem to increasingly dominate customer interactions, potentially eroding the goodwill that the airline once enjoyed among its passengers.