EPISODE · Feb 3, 2026 · 29 MIN
Southwest’s Big Reinvention: Assigned Seats, Bag Fees, and a 2026 Profit Surge
from Skift Take Sessions · host Skift
Southwest Airlines is rewriting its identity, and the story is bigger than “assigned seating” and “bags fly free.” To kick off the first episode of Skift Take Sessions, Wil Slickers sits down with Skift airlines reporter Meghna Maharishi for a quick pre-session breakdown of why these changes are happening now, including activist pressure from Elliott Investment Management and the post-pandemic shift toward premium demand. Then we roll into a live session from the Skift Aviation Forum in December 2025, where Tom Doxey lays out the transformation in plain terms: assigned seating, extra legroom, bag fees, basic economy, free Wi-Fi, new destinations, and what it all means for Southwest’s margins in 2026. Moderated by Brian Sumers. More from Skift Takes Sessions: Want to access the full video of these sessions? Become a Skift Pro Subscriber today! We'd love to see you at our next Live Skift event! Learn more here to see where and when you can see these sessions in-person with other industry leaders just like you! Connect with Skift LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/skift/ WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAL375LikgIXmNPYQ0L/ Facebook: https://facebook.com/skiftnews Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skiftnews/ Threads: https://www.threads.net/@skiftnews Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/skiftnews.bsky.social X: https://twitter.com/skift Subscribe to @SkiftNews and never miss an update from the travel industry.
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Southwest’s Big Reinvention: Assigned Seats, Bag Fees, and a 2026 Profit Surge
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