A Southwest Airlines jet approaches Midway airport on December 15, 2023 in Chicago. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune / Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
John J. Kim | Chicago Tribune | Getty images
Southwest Airlines“New policies such as billing bags for the first time could turn against him,” said Fitch Ratings on Thursday.
Southwest reverses its two decades of two decades of two decades “Fly Free” for checkered luggage in May, although there are exceptions for travelers with a credit card from the Southwest, the elite status of the leaflet or which buy the highest classes of tickets.
It also launches allocated seats and a basic economic rate without frills and that flight credits will expire.
Fitch has expressed negative rating prospects for the company, known for a long time for its solid assessment, because “Southwest can move on to a capital allowance and a less conservative financial policy, while the strategic changes in progress have the potential to have an impact on its competitive position compared to network carriers.
“Articles to improve profitability such as the introduction of bag costs and the expiration of flight credits may erode the competitive forces of Southwest compared to peers,” said Fitch.
Publications on Southwest Social Networks, even if they were not linked to policy changes, aroused angry comments on changes, but the loss of market share, if “is uncertain”, noted the company.
Southwest refused to comment on the new fitch perspectives. The airline has undergone more intense pressure to improve the margins since the Elliott Investment Management’s hedge of activists took a participation in the carrier and then won five seats on the board of directors in a regulation last year.