A week that changed everything for air travelers

For the last 25 years, if you wanted to know what was wrong with the airline industry, you could point at the two airlines that refused to play along.

Southwest checked your bags at no extra charge and let you sit wherever you wanted. JetBlue gave everyone in coach more legroom than any other domestic airline and put a TV in every seatback. 

Neither one had a first class or a lounge.

Both of those airlines ended this week — at least as we know them.

What happened

On Sept. 1, JetBlue announced BlueFirst, a domestic first class cabin. It has 12 seats on the A220 and A320, and 16 on the A321, arranged two by two, with seven more inches of legroom than a Main seat. You’ll also get a generous five inches of recline and a 13.3-inch screen. 

Booking opens this fall, and the first aircraft with the new first class section will fly before the end of the year. 

“Domestic first class has become easy to predict,” CEO Joanna Geraghty said. “We think it’s time for a fresh take.”

The next morning, Southwest said it’s opening its first airport lounges in Austin, Baltimore, Honolulu and Nashville in late 2027, with at least seven more to follow. You get in with a new premium Rapid Rewards credit card from Chase.

Both these developments are part of a bigger story. Southwest started charging $35 for a checked bag in May 2025 and switched to assigned seating for travel starting in January. JetBlue’s cabin now has four tiers — that’s enough to make an 18th century French aristocrat squirm.

Why is this happening?

It’s the money.

JetBlue has lost money six years running. Premium revenue per seat grew 13 percent last quarter, and the airline expects BlueFirst to add close to five points to its unit revenue. 

Southwest’s Tony Roach calls the lounges “a strategic investment in Rapid Rewards.” Both arguments come down to the same point: An airline that can’t make payroll can’t give anyone free bags, and the passengers willing to pay for more are the ones keeping the lights on for everybody else. (There is, of course, all the revenue an airline will earn from selling miles to credit card providers, but let’s not go there today.)

But there are still some unanswered questions …

JetBlue’s news release describes the new cabin in detail and says nothing about the main cabin. But 12 seats at that pitch have to come from somewhere on an airplane that isn’t getting any longer. 

The obvious answer is that JetBlue will take it out of the rest of the seats, moving the main cabin seats closer together, probably from 32 inches to 30 inches. I asked JetBlue what the main cabin seat pitch will be after the retrofit, but it did not respond.

Southwest’s lounge, meanwhile, requires a credit card application if you don’t have a new Rapid Rewards Credit Card issued by Chase. I know — just what we need, more credit cards.

What do you think of these developments?

That brings us to this week’s question. Are these changes going to be good for air travelers?

If you said yes:

• Would you pay for a JetBlue first class seat, or is this for somebody else?
• Does a lounge make up for a $35 bag fee?
• Which airline now treats you best?

If you said no:

• What did you lose that you’d pay to get back?
• Have you switched carriers over any of these changes?
• Is there an airline left that still does it the old way?

My take

First class seats and lounges aren’t new. A seat with more room in front of it and a quiet room near the gate both existed before, on other airlines, for a price. 

What changed here is that the two airlines that did things differently — JetBlue and Southwest — aren’t doing them anymore. It’s the end of an era.

In a decade or two, when we’re arguing over pay toilets and credit card readers in the overhead bins, we’ll probably look back on this week as an important milestone. There are four major airlines serving the domestic market, but alas, the differences between them are few and far between.

Your turn

Have you flown Southwest or JetBlue since the changes started? Tell me what’s different, and whether you’d pay for any of it.

Christopher Elliott

Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that empowers consumers to solve their problems and helps those who can't. He's the author of numerous books on consumer advocacy and writes three nationally syndicated columns. He also publishes the Elliott Report, a news site for consumers, and Elliott Confidential, a critically acclaimed newsletter about customer service. If you have a consumer problem you can't solve, contact him directly through his advocacy website. You can also follow him on X, Facebook, and LinkedIn, or sign up for his daily newsletter.