Southwest Touts Its No Fee Policy

Anyone else notice that Southwest has really started talking about that fact that it has no fees lately? They have a page on their website dedicated to the campaign, and I've seen some ads saying the same thing. Smart move, and really, it's necessary if they want to keep their current policies in place.

As other airlines have all begun to jump on the fee bandwagon, Southwest has held strong. Now, some would say that's stupid and that Southwest should really work on getting some more revenue here, but if they're going to at least try to hold out, they should be shouting from the rooftops about it. I mean, look at this list of non-fees:

• No change fees
• No fees for the first two checked bags
• No fuel charges
• Free snacks
• No aisle or window seat fees
• No curbside check-in fees
• No phone reservations fees

It's fairly incredible to see how big of a differentiator this is. It's been a somewhat slow progression of additional fees at the other airlines over the years, so travelers probably don't realize how different it is to fly Southwest now. And it's not even just the types of fees here, but it's the amount other airlines are charging. For example, Southwest still clings to its no change fee policy while other airlines have gone up to $150. That's tremendous.

Good for Southwest to finally get out there and make it clear how much cheaper and more convenient it can be to fly the airline. Now we'll see if it helps them garner support for higher fares. If it doesn't, I think we can expect to see them start adding fees at some point.