Southwest Airlines is trying to recover from the bad PR they just generated by pointing to an instance of worse PR.
The airline giant sparked outrage this week by announcing the impending end of their policy allowing two free checked bags for every passenger. Though the policy was a major competitive advantage for Southwest Airlines, they have decided to do away with it and will now be charging for checked bags unless a passenger belongs to one of their higher tiers of service.
In response to the backlash, Southwest Airlines took to Instagram on Thursday and pointed to [checks notes] the Dallas Mavericks’ trade of Luka Doncic (presumably as an example of a worse corporate blunder).
“It’s not like we traded Luka,” the Instagram post from Southwest Airlines read.
This may have been a bit of a cheeky jab by Southwest at a rival airline. American Airlines, one of Southwest’s biggest competitors, has a naming rights deal with the Mavericks (who thus play at American Airlines Center).
The Mavericks’ decision last month to trade their five-time All-Star sensation Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers continues to be extremely unpopular with fans, many of whom have been loudly protesting the move. Even Dallas minority owner Mark Cuban, who was not consulted in the team’s decision, recently expressed public displeasure over the Doncic trade.
But trying to distract all of their angry customers by saying, “Look over there at the NBA!” is not exactly making Southwest Airlines look any better here. The airline also recently did away with their open-seating policy on flights as they continue to make moves that are alienating their patrons.
