For decades associated above all with its open seating and two-bags-fly-free policies, Southwest Airlines has both angered longtime travelers and cast doubt on its ability to stand out from other airlines when it scrapped both for paid options last year.
Even United CEO Scott Kirby classified it as “the slaying of a sacred cow” while many analysts questioned whether carving out new markets in places like Hawaii would be enough to make up for the loss of customers who felt betrayed and now also have no reason to choose Southwest over any other airline charging similar prices
Under these circumstances, Southwest CEO Bob Jordan’s comment that he “just can’t check a bag” comes across as particularly tactless. In a short question-and-answer mic session that Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy posted to his X account, Jordan answered a question about the one travel rule he personally lives by with an initial answer saying that he is on time to flights.
“Just don’t check a bag”: Southwest CEO gives tactless answer to travel rules question
After another second’s thought, Jordan tells travelers to “not check bags.”
“I just can’t check a bag,” Jordan says to Duffy who does not ask him to elaborate on his answer and instead goes on to a question about Jordan’s favorite airport foods.
Related: Southwest Airlines changed everything: What flyers need to know
While travelers who have loyalty with the airline or book higher-fare tickets do not have to pay for checked bags, most others are now charged $35 for the first checked bag and $45 for the second one on top of the base fare.
Southwest representatives had previously also told investors that the airline expects to generate over $1 billion from fees generated through the charged bags.
⏱️ TRANSPORTATION MINUTE
⏳ 60 SECONDS
1️⃣ CEO
🎯 NOTHING OFF THE TABLETODAY’S EDITION: @SouthwestAir CEO Bob Jordan ✈️
YOU DECIDE:
What snacks should Southwest add to their flights? COMMENT BELOW ⬇️⬇️ pic.twitter.com/ZvM0K026Yd— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) March 17, 2026
After Southwest scraps free bag policy, Bob Jordan says he never checks bags himself
In an interview in the summer of 2025, Jordan positioned the additional fee as being “really about choice” but many travelers clearly feel differently.
“So, what’s the inevitable result?” one traveler wrote on the subreddit discussing Southwest on the social media platform Reddit. “Everyone is now cramming their stuff into a carry-on and a personal item to avoid the fee. And before every single flight, I hear the gate agent say: ‘Folks, we have an extremely full flight, and we simply do not have room in the overhead bins for everyone’s carry-on. We are looking for volunteers to check your bags for free at the gate.'”
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By his own example, Jordan is encouraging travelers to save time and money by not checking a bag and ultimately telling them that what Southwest hopes will bring profit for the airline is actually a bad idea.
Southwest’s efforts at cost-cutting trace back to 2023 when hedge fund Elliot Investment Management bought enough of the airline’s shares to order board votes and started calling for major changes to the airline’s leadership and business model following a long string of quarterly losses.
While some at Elliott initially pushed for his ouster, Jordan was able to hold on to his role amid a far-reaching shakeup that involved cutting 15% of the Southwest workforce, pushing out former executives Gary Kelly and Ryan Green, and shaking up its board with six Elliott appointees last year.
Related: United Airlines CEO issues stark warning about ticket prices
