Southwest has been circulating a survey to a bunch of fliers to try to explore all sorts of ways to make changes to their offerings. Fortunately, a thoughtful reader took screenshots of every single page of his survey and sent it over to me. Today and tomorrow, I’ll be taking a peak at what they’re asking about.

Please keep in mind that this was just a survey. We know that a change to Rapid Rewards is coming, but we don’t know that this is it. This is apparently just one of the potential scenarios they’ve been floating around. Have a read for yourself.

It looks like they are taking a page from Virgin America and JetBlue with this possible change. You would earn points based on the number of dollars you spend. Higher class fares would get higher earnings (wait until tomorrow, I’ll show this). I don’t mind this piece of the puzzle.

Where I’m not thrilled is with the redemption plan. This program would again be like those of JetBlue and Virgin America in that the redemption amount would vary. In this scenario, it would be directly tied to the selling price at the time you’re looking to redeem. While I see the value in this from an airline standpoint, I remain unimpressed by these programs since you really can’t save up for a free flight. The number is always changing. Of course, a cash + points option would make things somewhat better. If they go this route, I’d hope they’d consider that.

This program would keep the A-list elite benefits, but my guess is that it would turn into more of a full-fledged elite-style program. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it will put a dent in Southwest’s egalitarian persona.

Now let’s switch gears to something that has annoyed most Southwest fliers at one point or another . . . same day standby. While other airlines will generally allow you to standby for another flight on the same day (sometimes for a fee), Southwest has always required that you simply pay the difference in fare to the selling fare available at the time. It looks like they’re now exploring alternatives.

So what are they throwing out there? Well, there’s the possibility of same day standby and same day confirmed, just like the other guys offer. They’re also looking at a priority same day standby option that would be offered to the higher fare classes.

It does sound like Southwest is looking at becoming more like the other guys, huh? I hope they move very carefully here. We’ll talk about that more tomorrow when we look at the bigger pricing picture.

I feel like I’ve approached this topic before, but in light of the airlines raising bag fees once again to $25 for the first bag and $35 for the second, I thought it was worth revisiting. There are a lot of people complaining about bag fees going up, but that’s not going to do any good. You need to take action if you’re not happy.

It’s a time-honored tradition for travelers to hate everything that airlines do. Airline management knows that and has to take all feedback it gets as part of a larger picture. So just because you say you hate bag fees, doesn’t mean they’ll believe you. Let me explain.

People say they hate things but then they don’t change their behavior. This has happened with nearly every change that has stuck in the airline industry. People always complain, but if they keep flying, then the revenue is usually worth it in the mind of the airline manager. Airlines also tend to move in packs, so you don’t often have much time to switch your business to show your displeasure. When one moves, they all move.

But there’s a unique opportunity when it comes to bag fees because of a couple of holdouts. Southwest won’t charge you for your first two checked bags and JetBlue won’t charge you for the first. If you really aren’t happy with bag fees, you should switch your business to these guys and then write a letter to your previous favorite airline letting them know. If enough people do that, the airlines will reverse where things are going with bag fees. If not, then they’ll just keep jacking them up until they can’t anymore. It’s that simple.

Ready to change the world? This won’t be easy, because remember, elite frequent fliers don’t pay bag fees. That means that the people the airlines deem to be most important aren’t going to care if there are bag fees or not. So it’s just the unwashed masses who have to get together to fight the power. And it’s only some of the unwashed masses who check bags. Families with kids, people going on long vacations, etc – they’re the ones impacted the most. That’s an uphill battle.

So, if you want to fight the power, stop complaining and change your behavior instead. And when you do it, tell someone with specific details. You can start with the comment section on this post. Airline people read this blog, so this is one way to reach them. Or, if you’re looking for something more effective, send them an email, give them a call, or send them a postcard from the trip you take on another airline. If you don’t like bag fees, that’s the way to get them changed.

Complaining about it won’t be enough.

It’s Martin Luther King Jr Day, so I thought it might be a good time to honor some of the pioneering figures in American commercial aviation. Though Jackie Robinson’s baseball debut in the major leagues is more well-known, there were plenty of black people in the US who fought the same prejudice in commercial aviation.

Perry Young was the only black person hired to fly commercially in the US prior to the 1960s. After trying to get on with the airlines, he had to settle for helicopter flying. He was hired by New York Airways in 1957.

Ruth Carol Taylor was the first black woman hired as a flight attendant in 1957. (Her first flight was in 1958.) She flew for Mohawk Airlines, though she soon ran into other problems when she faced a marriage ban that was in effect for flight attendants at the time. Though her career was short-lived, TWA soon began hiring black flight attendants and others followed.

Marlon Green (left) was a former Air Force pilot who applied to fly for Continental in 1957 and became the first black pilot hired by a major US airline six years later. He was only given an interview because he didn’t check the box noting that he was, in fact, black. It wasn’t until 1963 that he was finally hired by Continental after they were effectively forced to do so by a US Supreme Court decision. That made him the first black person to be hired as a pilot for a major US airline. He didn’t fly until 1965, but then he flew for 14 years before retiring in 1978. He died last July at the age of 80.

David Harris also holds a place in history. He was actually the first black pilot to fly for a major US airline (while Marlon Green continued to fight). David first flew for American in 1964 and had a 30 year career before retiring in 1994.

Just because these were some of the first black people to fly in the US doesn’t mean they were the only ones to face discrimination. So today, let’s think about everything that these and other black people who aspired to work for the airlines only 50 years ago had to face.

Thank you to everyone for your feedback on my proposed code of ethics last week. I was up in the mountains this weekend and it gave me plenty of time to review everything and get my code ready to go. So, point your browser to crankyflier.com/ethics and you’ll see it in all its glory.

As promised, I have also given it a prominent place on the site. You will see it in the menu bar at the top of every single page. I take this seriously, as you can tell.

You’ll see that some things have been revised from the original round. You guys told me that the most important thing was to have full disclosure and to write the complete truth. I’ve made those the central tenets of the code.

I’ve also decided to disclose all offers of free and/or discounted products and services, so you can scroll through that page to see what I’ve been offered and what I’ve accepted.

As always, feedback is welcome.

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