Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
New this year.
Speaker 2 (00:00):
Keep an eye out for the w TVN tailgate crashers.
We could roll up to your tailgate in a golf
cartload with tons of free swag. It's all brought to
you by the Flag Ladies, Flag Store, Doctor Pepper Tansky,
Power Sports and six to ten WTVN. And of course
we're talking about you know, when we're talking tailgate, we're
talking before the game, like on Saturday in the morning,
(00:23):
and of course kickoff is at noon. So be on
the lookout for us this Saturday and all the home games.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
For this but takes a special breed indulge in broughtson
beer at six am. But I know that they are
just waiting for Saturday to.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Get here, thousands and thousands and thousands of people.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
And Alex Stone is joining us right now. And Alex,
you ever been out? Have you ever been to a tailgate?
You cross me as the kind of guy that yeah,
you probably have.
Speaker 4 (00:48):
Sure, I have, Yeah, over the years growing up in
Niners games and going to A's games everything. Yeah, but
it's gonna be weird if I'm waiting at one here
in southern California this weekend waiting for you to show up,
being like, I don't know. I might win this. I
might win this. I think he's gonna show up.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Yeah, let me be more specific with you. It would
be outside of the horseshoe or the buckets.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
So if I'm outside the coliseum at the USC game,
I'm not gonna You're not gonna show up.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
No, I won't. I specifically will not be there.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
However, there might be some people on the on the
lookout on the prow there.
Speaker 4 (01:18):
I guess sure, tell my wife hun. No, he said
he's going to show up. I could win this. I
could win this.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
I guess you know.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Hey, So Chuck had an interesting question about Southwest Airlines
and the fact, you know, here they go making another change,
and we were kind of talking about this during the
break and he said, is there some leadership change, because
there's some big changes happening with them as far as
you know the brass there at Southwest, I didn't know.
(01:47):
I was like, I'm not sure, do you.
Speaker 4 (01:49):
Have an mom? Yeah, Bob Jordan, their CEO, came in
in twenty twenty two, so he's not brand new, but
you know, a lot of this takes a long time
to ramp up, so that these could be his moves
of the over the last couple of years to get
to the the point where they're doing it. That's years
of planning to do it. In January they got a
new CFO I believe, and some other executives, So there
(02:11):
are new executives at the top and the CEO. You
could argue for the extent of what they're doing right
now that he may be new enough of three or
four years ago that this is kind of the changes
that he brought in. It just takes time to rebuild
airplanes and decide what you're going to do on the
inside of them.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Well, this newest one, I know that they've they've probably
got a whole fleet of attorneys on staff, and they've
you know, because I feel like there might be some
lawsuits coming out of this. But look, I'd also don't
feel like, kind of to your point, that this was
something they were they thought about, you know, last weekend
and wait, you know what, let's go ahead and get
(02:49):
going with this.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
So what is this latest change?
Speaker 4 (02:53):
Yeah, so you know, there have been all kinds of
things and that they've got to become to succeed. They believe,
a main line airline like Delta United or you know America,
any of them, because low cost carriers have been really hurting,
and at Spirit they've been talking about that they may
not exist in the future. They've got to start selling
(03:13):
off airplanes because they can't figure out how to begin
making money. And Frontier has been making changes and those
are ultra low costs. But even Southwest has really coming
out of the pandemic. People have had the money and
been willing to spend it for a better experience on
board and going with mainline airlines where you have clubs
and you have a real first class and a different
(03:34):
experience is on board. And so they've been making changes.
And in the first year of charging for bags, Southwest
expects to make a billion extra dollars just for charging
for bags. That's hard to turn down. And you know,
for a long time they had argued that not charging
for bags brought in more than a billion dollars a
year by customers coming over. But now they're saying, hey,
(03:56):
we need it in cash, you know, not just in
kind of this the pie in the sky, you know,
wide well, we probably get more customers this way. They
want to see it actually coming in now, and they
say it's going to be about a billion dollars. But
on the most recent earnings call about all this stuff,
saying I think that in.
Speaker 5 (04:11):
Less than a hundred days, we're rolling these different things
out and they will ramp up as the year goes on,
and in the next year they create additional free cash
flow for us that gives us the ability to also
return capital to shareholders.
Speaker 4 (04:25):
So now the new change being revealed is that Southwest
is no longer going to give plus sized passengers a
second seat for free. And Southwest has become the airline
of choice for larger customers for many years because they
could go up to the counter and say, hey, look,
I don't fit into one of your seats, Can I
have a seat next to me for free? And if
the plane wasn't full, they could do that and just
(04:47):
give it away for free. But beginning in late January,
I believe January twenty seventh, Southwest is saying that when
you make a reservation, if you know that you need
a second seat, you've got to buy that second seat
as a non refundable ticket. And now if you get
on the plane and there are open seats on board,
as long as you have booked both of the seats
(05:08):
in the same fair class. You can go back to
Southwest and within ninety days and say there were open
seats on board and I paid for an open seat,
and they will refund it at that point. But otherwise
you do not get an open seat next to you
once I go to as signed seating, but it's got
to be booked and paid for ahead of time and
then maybe you'll get the money back if it's not
(05:30):
a full flight. So this is just the latest change
coming with a sign seating, and the execs have been saying.
Speaker 5 (05:35):
We are making rapid progress to sell and operate a
sign in premium seating, which will bring many of our initiatives.
Speaker 4 (05:41):
Together, and this is all about that assigned seating. This
move they'll put Southwest in line with every other airline
as if somebody needs a second seat, all the other
airlines have always said, well, then you pay for a
second seat, you don't get it for free. So it's
more that it's a big change for Southwest and customers
who had kind of Southwest have been their only airline
to not double up the price that they were gonna pay,
and their flyers who are plus sized who are angry
(06:04):
about this and discouraged about it, but they they're getting
in line with what every other airline has done kind
of what they're doing with bags and the signed seating
and the extra leg room up front.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
So the plus size is there specific parameters there? I mean,
because clearly that you know, you can have somebody who
is just a large, like a linebacker who has you know,
eight percent body fat, who is not really like a
blob that.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
Needs more seating because they're just wide, you know, they're
just big. They're not necessary.
Speaker 4 (06:33):
Yeah, I just yeah, I think it's what every other
airline deals with, where it's kind of a judgment call
in that moment of a flight attendant being like, hmm,
this isn't working. Or you know, if the guy next
to you is like pinned up against the wall and
he has no space in his seat in the window seat,
that that might be a factor, but it's like anything
else where a flight attendant could look at it and say,
you know, ma'am sir, this isn't gonna work, like you know,
(06:56):
we need to get you another seat, and then they'll
figure it out there. But all the other airlines had
to deal with it forever. So now Southwest flight attendants
will and gate agents will have to figure that out
as well.
Speaker 3 (07:05):
I'm just I'm wondering, is is your comfort as the
fat passenger or is it the comfort of the person
next to you? Or if you're a fat passenger spilling
over into the seat next to you, but your skinny
spouse is with you, are they still gonna make you
get another seat.
Speaker 4 (07:21):
It's a good question. I don't know. Yeah, I don't
know how they're gonna police it. I think a lot
of the time it's the passenger who wants two seats
out of comfort or they know that they probably need
two seats, that it's become an issue, and that it
may be more the passenger themselves for comfort or their
own safety, that they feel like that they've got to
have it. But there will come a point where the
(07:41):
person sitting next to them is going to be like, well,
this ain't working. I don't know how they're gonna police that,
And they may have to figure that out between now
and the end of January, and it may just be
kind of a judgment call on everybody's part, just like
somebody who's had a couple of drinks. But are they
too intoxicated to fly or are they okay? And you
know the size of bags and everything else.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
Yeah, I would think if this is your first time flying,
you might not know legitimately, If this isn't your first
time flying, you know, if you should be purchasing a
second seat with regard to are you going to spill
over into the other seat?
Speaker 4 (08:16):
Right, If you've been flying Southwest because of that and
they you've always gotten a second seat, that's probably the
indicator that you need a second seat.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Right, And there's somebody protesting right there, No, I you know,
Chuck brought up something interesting too, Alex.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
He's like, what about people who wear too much perfume?
You choke it?
Speaker 2 (08:36):
It's like should they have to get off the plane
and be like go scrub down?
Speaker 3 (08:40):
And you know, well, it's going to be Dracard noir.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
It always is, man, No, not necessarily.
Speaker 3 (08:45):
Oh, when it gets to me, it's usually drac Card noir.
It's really heavy and it just gets me.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
If you can taste it, you're wearing too.
Speaker 4 (08:52):
Yeah, when you taste it, man, when somebody watchs by
you and it's perfume or cologne and just like, ah,
I can taste it.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
It's interesting though. The other air line, Delta and some
of the other big carriers. They've probably they've been doing
this for a long time, and you haven't really seen
any lawsuits. Kind of to my you know, my comment
early on when we started the segment, I guess you know,
you don't really see that.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
People just kind of fall in line with it.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
They know that that's that's just the perils of flying
your if your larger ice.
Speaker 4 (09:20):
Yeah, and I'm sure airlines do deal with it. It
just doesn't make news or make headlines. And I'm sure
there's probably been lawsuits against airlines over who they may
get a second seat and who not. But yeah, it's
gonna be a big change for Southwest because they have
been kind of the one airline where passengers could say, well,
all I have to do is go up to the
desk and yeah they can see that I need a
second seat, and you typically would get it. But come January,
(09:43):
it's going to be like, no, sorry, you didn't book
a second seat when you book the ticket. It's not
gonna work.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
Interesting all right, Alex Stone, ABC News, Alex, thank you
very latter guys.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
See you, man, I worry that they are going to
just like everybody else themselves into a position where people
were going other places, because they're just like everybody else,
and Spirit is saying we might not make it. This
may be an excellent opportunity for Spirit to say, fat people,
come on, we'll fly you.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
I certainly like what you're saying could be a consideration
as far as them Southwest making themselves like everybody else,
only they're still going to be less expensive. I'm telling you,
you compare apples to apples, city to city where you're flying.
For me, when I'm going to Las Vegas out of Columbus,
there is no better deal out there Southwest, is it.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
Now?
Speaker 2 (10:33):
You got other carriers, no question, you're going to Las
Vegas from Columbus. All of them offer that, but it
is less expensive with Southwest.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
It is.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
And I thought, man, if they could just start offering
a sign seating, which they're going to start doing next year,
and I'm very happy about that, and I'd pay a
little bit more money from that. But man, they've got
three or four direct flights daily daily from Columbus. They've
become now again that's specific Las Vegas. I don't fly
to Orlando, I don't fly to Houston. I don't fly
(11:05):
to Chicago. I don't fly to and people have their
own carriers that they like because it's a specific situation.
But right now, man out of Columbus Southwest, it's hard
to beat for Las Vegas price.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
And all of the direct flights.
Speaker 3 (11:19):
I mean, it's crazy, but keep the fair is low
and the customer serve is strong.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
You may stand at you right, absolutely
New this year.
Speaker 2 (00:00):
Keep an eye out for the w TVN tailgate crashers.
We could roll up to your tailgate in a golf
cartload with tons of free swag. It's all brought to
you by the Flag Ladies, Flag Store, Doctor Pepper Tansky,
Power Sports and six to ten WTVN. And of course
we're talking about you know, when we're talking tailgate, we're
talking before the game, like on Saturday in the morning,
(00:23):
and of course kickoff is at noon. So be on
the lookout for us this Saturday and all the home games.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
For this but takes a special breed indulge in broughtson
beer at six am. But I know that they are
just waiting for Saturday to.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Get here, thousands and thousands and thousands of people.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
And Alex Stone is joining us right now. And Alex,
you ever been out? Have you ever been to a tailgate?
You cross me as the kind of guy that yeah,
you probably have.
Speaker 4 (00:48):
Sure, I have, Yeah, over the years growing up in
Niners games and going to A's games everything. Yeah, but
it's gonna be weird if I'm waiting at one here
in southern California this weekend waiting for you to show up,
being like, I don't know. I might win this. I
might win this. I think he's gonna show up.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Yeah, let me be more specific with you. It would
be outside of the horseshoe or the buckets.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
So if I'm outside the coliseum at the USC game,
I'm not gonna You're not gonna show up.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
No, I won't. I specifically will not be there.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
However, there might be some people on the on the
lookout on the prow there.
Speaker 4 (01:18):
I guess sure, tell my wife hun. No, he said
he's going to show up. I could win this. I
could win this.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
I guess you know.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Hey, So Chuck had an interesting question about Southwest Airlines
and the fact, you know, here they go making another change,
and we were kind of talking about this during the
break and he said, is there some leadership change, because
there's some big changes happening with them as far as
you know the brass there at Southwest, I didn't know.
(01:47):
I was like, I'm not sure, do you.
Speaker 4 (01:49):
Have an mom? Yeah, Bob Jordan, their CEO, came in
in twenty twenty two, so he's not brand new, but
you know, a lot of this takes a long time
to ramp up, so that these could be his moves
of the over the last couple of years to get
to the the point where they're doing it. That's years
of planning to do it. In January they got a
new CFO I believe, and some other executives, So there
(02:11):
are new executives at the top and the CEO. You
could argue for the extent of what they're doing right
now that he may be new enough of three or
four years ago that this is kind of the changes
that he brought in. It just takes time to rebuild
airplanes and decide what you're going to do on the
inside of them.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Well, this newest one, I know that they've they've probably
got a whole fleet of attorneys on staff, and they've
you know, because I feel like there might be some
lawsuits coming out of this. But look, I'd also don't
feel like, kind of to your point, that this was
something they were they thought about, you know, last weekend
and wait, you know what, let's go ahead and get
(02:49):
going with this.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
So what is this latest change?
Speaker 4 (02:53):
Yeah, so you know, there have been all kinds of
things and that they've got to become to succeed. They believe,
a main line airline like Delta United or you know America,
any of them, because low cost carriers have been really hurting,
and at Spirit they've been talking about that they may
not exist in the future. They've got to start selling
(03:13):
off airplanes because they can't figure out how to begin
making money. And Frontier has been making changes and those
are ultra low costs. But even Southwest has really coming
out of the pandemic. People have had the money and
been willing to spend it for a better experience on
board and going with mainline airlines where you have clubs
and you have a real first class and a different
(03:34):
experience is on board. And so they've been making changes.
And in the first year of charging for bags, Southwest
expects to make a billion extra dollars just for charging
for bags. That's hard to turn down. And you know,
for a long time they had argued that not charging
for bags brought in more than a billion dollars a
year by customers coming over. But now they're saying, hey,
(03:56):
we need it in cash, you know, not just in
kind of this the pie in the sky, you know,
wide well, we probably get more customers this way. They
want to see it actually coming in now, and they
say it's going to be about a billion dollars. But
on the most recent earnings call about all this stuff,
saying I think that in.
Speaker 5 (04:11):
Less than a hundred days, we're rolling these different things
out and they will ramp up as the year goes on,
and in the next year they create additional free cash
flow for us that gives us the ability to also
return capital to shareholders.
Speaker 4 (04:25):
So now the new change being revealed is that Southwest
is no longer going to give plus sized passengers a
second seat for free. And Southwest has become the airline
of choice for larger customers for many years because they
could go up to the counter and say, hey, look,
I don't fit into one of your seats, Can I
have a seat next to me for free? And if
the plane wasn't full, they could do that and just
(04:47):
give it away for free. But beginning in late January,
I believe January twenty seventh, Southwest is saying that when
you make a reservation, if you know that you need
a second seat, you've got to buy that second seat
as a non refundable ticket. And now if you get
on the plane and there are open seats on board,
as long as you have booked both of the seats
(05:08):
in the same fair class. You can go back to
Southwest and within ninety days and say there were open
seats on board and I paid for an open seat,
and they will refund it at that point. But otherwise
you do not get an open seat next to you
once I go to as signed seating, but it's got
to be booked and paid for ahead of time and
then maybe you'll get the money back if it's not
(05:30):
a full flight. So this is just the latest change
coming with a sign seating, and the execs have been saying.
Speaker 5 (05:35):
We are making rapid progress to sell and operate a
sign in premium seating, which will bring many of our initiatives.
Speaker 4 (05:41):
Together, and this is all about that assigned seating. This
move they'll put Southwest in line with every other airline
as if somebody needs a second seat, all the other
airlines have always said, well, then you pay for a
second seat, you don't get it for free. So it's
more that it's a big change for Southwest and customers
who had kind of Southwest have been their only airline
to not double up the price that they were gonna pay,
and their flyers who are plus sized who are angry
(06:04):
about this and discouraged about it, but they they're getting
in line with what every other airline has done kind
of what they're doing with bags and the signed seating
and the extra leg room up front.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
So the plus size is there specific parameters there? I mean,
because clearly that you know, you can have somebody who
is just a large, like a linebacker who has you know,
eight percent body fat, who is not really like a
blob that.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
Needs more seating because they're just wide, you know, they're
just big. They're not necessary.
Speaker 4 (06:33):
Yeah, I just yeah, I think it's what every other
airline deals with, where it's kind of a judgment call
in that moment of a flight attendant being like, hmm,
this isn't working. Or you know, if the guy next
to you is like pinned up against the wall and
he has no space in his seat in the window seat,
that that might be a factor, but it's like anything
else where a flight attendant could look at it and say,
you know, ma'am sir, this isn't gonna work, like you know,
(06:56):
we need to get you another seat, and then they'll
figure it out there. But all the other airlines had
to deal with it forever. So now Southwest flight attendants
will and gate agents will have to figure that out
as well.
Speaker 3 (07:05):
I'm just I'm wondering, is is your comfort as the
fat passenger or is it the comfort of the person
next to you? Or if you're a fat passenger spilling
over into the seat next to you, but your skinny
spouse is with you, are they still gonna make you
get another seat.
Speaker 4 (07:21):
It's a good question. I don't know. Yeah, I don't
know how they're gonna police it. I think a lot
of the time it's the passenger who wants two seats
out of comfort or they know that they probably need
two seats, that it's become an issue, and that it
may be more the passenger themselves for comfort or their
own safety, that they feel like that they've got to
have it. But there will come a point where the
(07:41):
person sitting next to them is going to be like, well,
this ain't working. I don't know how they're gonna police that,
And they may have to figure that out between now
and the end of January, and it may just be
kind of a judgment call on everybody's part, just like
somebody who's had a couple of drinks. But are they
too intoxicated to fly or are they okay? And you
know the size of bags and everything else.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
Yeah, I would think if this is your first time flying,
you might not know legitimately, If this isn't your first
time flying, you know, if you should be purchasing a
second seat with regard to are you going to spill
over into the other seat?
Speaker 4 (08:16):
Right, If you've been flying Southwest because of that and
they you've always gotten a second seat, that's probably the
indicator that you need a second seat.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Right, And there's somebody protesting right there, No, I you know,
Chuck brought up something interesting too, Alex.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
He's like, what about people who wear too much perfume?
You choke it?
Speaker 2 (08:36):
It's like should they have to get off the plane
and be like go scrub down?
Speaker 3 (08:40):
And you know, well, it's going to be Dracard noir.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
It always is, man, No, not necessarily.
Speaker 3 (08:45):
Oh, when it gets to me, it's usually drac Card noir.
It's really heavy and it just gets me.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
If you can taste it, you're wearing too.
Speaker 4 (08:52):
Yeah, when you taste it, man, when somebody watchs by
you and it's perfume or cologne and just like, ah,
I can taste it.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
It's interesting though. The other air line, Delta and some
of the other big carriers. They've probably they've been doing
this for a long time, and you haven't really seen
any lawsuits. Kind of to my you know, my comment
early on when we started the segment, I guess you know,
you don't really see that.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
People just kind of fall in line with it.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
They know that that's that's just the perils of flying
your if your larger ice.
Speaker 4 (09:20):
Yeah, and I'm sure airlines do deal with it. It
just doesn't make news or make headlines. And I'm sure
there's probably been lawsuits against airlines over who they may
get a second seat and who not. But yeah, it's
gonna be a big change for Southwest because they have
been kind of the one airline where passengers could say, well,
all I have to do is go up to the
desk and yeah they can see that I need a
second seat, and you typically would get it. But come January,
(09:43):
it's going to be like, no, sorry, you didn't book
a second seat when you book the ticket. It's not
gonna work.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
Interesting all right, Alex Stone, ABC News, Alex, thank you
very latter guys.
Speaker 3 (09:53):
See you, man, I worry that they are going to
just like everybody else themselves into a position where people
were going other places, because they're just like everybody else,
and Spirit is saying we might not make it. This
may be an excellent opportunity for Spirit to say, fat people,
come on, we'll fly you.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
I certainly like what you're saying could be a consideration
as far as them Southwest making themselves like everybody else,
only they're still going to be less expensive. I'm telling you,
you compare apples to apples, city to city where you're flying.
For me, when I'm going to Las Vegas out of Columbus,
there is no better deal out there Southwest, is it.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
Now?
Speaker 2 (10:33):
You got other carriers, no question, you're going to Las
Vegas from Columbus. All of them offer that, but it
is less expensive with Southwest.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
It is.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
And I thought, man, if they could just start offering
a sign seating, which they're going to start doing next year,
and I'm very happy about that, and I'd pay a
little bit more money from that. But man, they've got
three or four direct flights daily daily from Columbus. They've
become now again that's specific Las Vegas. I don't fly
to Orlando, I don't fly to Houston. I don't fly
(11:05):
to Chicago. I don't fly to and people have their
own carriers that they like because it's a specific situation.
But right now, man out of Columbus Southwest, it's hard
to beat for Las Vegas price.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
And all of the direct flights.
Speaker 3 (11:19):
I mean, it's crazy, but keep the fair is low
and the customer serve is strong.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
You may stand at you right, absolutely
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Football’s funniest family duo — Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs — team up to provide next-level access to life in the league as it unfolds. The two brothers and Super Bowl champions drop weekly insights about the weekly slate of games and share their INSIDE perspectives on trending NFL news and sports headlines. They also endlessly rag on each other as brothers do, chat the latest in pop culture and welcome some very popular and well-known friends to chat with them. Check out new episodes every Wednesday. Follow New Heights on the Wondery App, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes early and ad-free, and get exclusive content on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And join our new membership for a unique fan experience by going to the New Heights YouTube channel now!
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