Gerard Braud, CSP, Fellow IEC
26.4K posts
@gbraud
Crisis Communications Expert - helping companies communicate fast & effectively without fluff during a crisis. Founder of @SituationHub software #crisis #comms
Has anyone else noticed that @SouthwestAir fares have gone through the roof since the boarding changes? I’m A-list preferred, multiple credit card holder, loyal customer for years. But unless you are traveling with someone on a companion pass there’s literally no reason to fly them anymore.
Today, I’m experiencing my first Southwest flight with the new bag and now seat policy. As a loyal SW traveler, I feel scammed. The flight prices aren’t cheaper and I have now paid for my flight, seat and checked baggage all separately. Never again. They’ve ruined their brand.
Southwest Airlines turned millions of loyal customers into hostages. And they're celebrating it. I'm one of them. 20+ years. Two credit cards. Companion pass. Bought gift cards. Recruited everyone I knew. Then they killed open seating. Killed bags fly free. Gutted everything that made them @SouthwestAir. Will I keep flying them? Yes. But not out of loyalty. Out of lock-in. My status still protects me. My bags are still free. I can pick my seat. Companion pass works. Strip those away? I'm gone tomorrow. Cheapest and fastest. Done. Loyalty: I choose you. Lock-in: I'm stuck with you. They look the same on a balance sheet. Completely different animals. This pattern is everywhere. Adobe made cancellation so painful the FTC sued them. HP put DRM chips in ink cartridges. Insurance companies charge loyal customers 40% more - the UK literally banned the practice. Netflix said "love is sharing a password" in 2017 then cracked down on it in 2023. The inflection point: when the conversation shifts from "how do we earn this?" to "how do we keep them from leaving?" That's where loyalty dies and lock-in begins. Southwest says it'll add $1.5B in revenue. Wall Street cheers. What's the cost of turning mavens into hostages? What's a brand you were loyal to that you're now just locked into?
The @SouthwestAir credit card has become worthless as the fee climbs every year.
Boarding a @SouthwestAir flight. I am A+ Preferred. This is Group 1 under the "new system". Two other unnumbered groups boarding before this one. So much for "status".
Southwest Airlines turned millions of loyal customers into hostages. And they're celebrating it. I'm one of them. 20+ years. Two credit cards. Companion pass. Bought gift cards. Recruited everyone I knew. Then they killed open seating. Killed bags fly free. Gutted everything that made them @SouthwestAir. Will I keep flying them? Yes. But not out of loyalty. Out of lock-in. My status still protects me. My bags are still free. I can pick my seat. Companion pass works. Strip those away? I'm gone tomorrow. Cheapest and fastest. Done. Loyalty: I choose you. Lock-in: I'm stuck with you. They look the same on a balance sheet. Completely different animals. This pattern is everywhere. Adobe made cancellation so painful the FTC sued them. HP put DRM chips in ink cartridges. Insurance companies charge loyal customers 40% more - the UK literally banned the practice. Netflix said "love is sharing a password" in 2017 then cracked down on it in 2023. The inflection point: when the conversation shifts from "how do we earn this?" to "how do we keep them from leaving?" That's where loyalty dies and lock-in begins. Southwest says it'll add $1.5B in revenue. Wall Street cheers. What's the cost of turning mavens into hostages? What's a brand you were loyal to that you're now just locked into?
