Southwest Air's Underwear Rodeo
 

(aka. "two bags fly free unless we figure out how to clip you for $50.")

Checking in two bags on one Business Select ticket sometimes leads to what I call the Underwear Rodeo with Southwest Airlines. On special occasions, it can be the super special Sidewalk Edition of the Underwear Rodeo. That's a very special day.

Let's say that one bag to check is 52 pounds, two pounds over the limit…. no problem.
If I was traveling with only that one bag, I'll pay the $50 penalty fee / fine with a smile. No kidding, check my record.
I know the rules, understand them, have no big issue with them. The more weight you put in the cargo hold the more fuel it takes; fuel is expensive; got it.

But here's where we saddle up and I do have a problem…
If the second bag to check is 38 pounds, twelve under the weight limit, my options are to move my underwear from the heavy bag into the lighter bag, in a public place, a crowded, busy, mildly intolerant public place like the sidewalk of the Las Vegas airport on a busy Saturday morning, or I can pay a $50 fine fee.
Yeah, there's where I have a problem that we need to lasso.
That's two bags, totaling 90 pounds. Just in case math is a problem (other than counting the money you took from me for the fine) that comes out to 45 pounds per bag and well under the 50 pound limit.

Well, Southwest, just so you know, when a business traveller pays extra for a premium ticket, and they are asked to play the underwear rodeo on your curbside check in or pay a $50 fine, it makes them agitated. Now before you copy and paste me a boilerplate response that will undoubtedly say "all airlines enforce the 50 lb limit with a fee.." please keep in mind that travelers like me that have over a million miles with a big airline get their bag fees waived. So I do have choices here on which bull to ride.

As I head back to the office Monday and turn in my expense report, I am preparing my response to the accounting folks who will ask about why I spent $50 on a bag fee when I can fly AA for zero fees and usually get upgraded to First Class too.
My reply will be that when you're in Vegas the underwear rodeo is fun! Unlike Minneapolis in February where the cold Underwear Rodeo is not so fun.

BTW, I have called about this issue, spoken nicely to the ticket counter guest services folks and made my point. I'm no a whiner and I don't want a courtesy waiver. I would like you to change your rules or, loose me as a customer. It's your rodeo, I'm just a cowboy.

WC

Bags never fly free on SWA. One of the greatest lies going is their bag fly free ads. Just before they began that, they raised their air fares across the board. Bags fees are hidden in the fare now. You pay a bag fee even if you're not checking a bag. Compare their fares now to other airlines. They're not the cheapest anymore.

its not the fact of averages where it would be under the allowance, you also have to think about the baggage handlers, its not just the plane weight per bag

many unions have rules that say a handler cant handle bags over a certain weight and overweight bags have to have a tag showing it

Ok. In all seriousness, 2 pounds over the 50 limit is not going to injure anyone. The union demanded limits you refer are typically over 60 or 70 lbs.
I completely agree with the logic that if 2 bags total 90 then paying a $50 fee is ridiculous.
That said, I fail to understand why the OP seems to make this an 'underwear problem'. Clearly he has stuff other than just under-wears in the 2 bags. 2 lbs is not much - maybe a couple of shirts or trousers or any other item for that matter can be transferred 'without embarrassment'. Further, this issue can easily be solved if the OP just weighs his bags prior to leaving to the airport. Even a sense check would have indicated uneven weights across the 2 bags.

Underwear Issue
 

Hi StoneCold, thanks for your opinion on this. I see your point and will be glad to disclose my reasoning for not transferring 2 pounds from the heavy bag to the lighter one. I have one artificial leg, that I do not disclose often. After a week of riding my motorcycle thru the desert in Nevada, I was sore. Too sore in fact to bend over on the sidewalk at the airport and "odds are" (notice the Vegas pun?) I would have fallen over if I were to attempt that. Never with my 5 conversations with SWA did I disclose this because I don't want to be treated like a handicapped person. Also, I wanted to bring this problem to SWA's attention. I've emailed the above complaint to SWA thru their site and have have only a canned reply that someone will get back to me.
So there you have it.
BTW, getting bags weighed while on the road in a hotel is not an appropiate solution / prevention as accurate scales are hard to come by.
Thanks!
W