• 3 months ago
TheStreet’s Conway Gittens brings you the biggest news of the day, including what investors are watching and Southwest Airlines making big changes.

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Transcript
00:00I'm Conway Gittins reporting from the New York Stock Exchange.
00:03Here's what we're watching on the street today.
00:05Fresh data released Friday seemed
00:06to support the Federal Reserve's September rate cut.
00:09The Personal Consumption Expenditures Index
00:11showed inflation rose 2.2% in August compared to a year ago,
00:16down from 2.5% in July.
00:18That move brought the Fed's preferred inflation measure
00:21even closer to its 2% target.
00:25In other news, there's good news for people considering
00:28a flight on Southwest Airlines.
00:30The company confirms that it will not
00:32start charging baggage fees.
00:34Right now, the airline lets passengers check in two bags
00:37at no cost, while most airlines charge at least $35
00:41for the first bag.
00:42In just the first six months of 2024,
00:44airlines collected $3.7 billion in checked bag fees,
00:48according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
00:51Southwest, quote, believes any change in the current policy
00:55would drive down demand and far outweigh any revenue gains
00:59created by imposing and collecting bag fees.
01:02The airline is also betting that by keeping its, quote,
01:05bags fly free policy, fuel passengers
01:08will bring bags on the plane,
01:09which makes plane boarding smoother and faster.
01:13That last point is important,
01:15since Southwest also announced a delay
01:17in getting rid of open seating.
01:19The airline said assigned seating
01:21will not officially kick in until 2026,
01:25with ticket purchases beginning in late 2025.
01:28Southwest admits 80% of its customers
01:31and 86% of the flying public prefer assigned seats.
01:36One of the reasons for the delay
01:37has to do with Southwest other plan
01:39to introduce premium seating,
01:41which means planes have to be reconfigured,
01:43and that takes time.
01:45Southwest management is under pressure
01:47to shake things up after a drop in revenue.
01:50That'll do it for your daily briefing
01:51from the New York Stock Exchange.
01:53I'm Conway Gittins with The Street.

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