Southwest exec says the free bag and assigned seating overhaul is already paying off

That actuality is now shaping choices at firms the place long-standing enterprise fashions are being reworked in response to shifting shopper expectations and tighter margins. Few shifts have been extra seen than at Southwest Airlines, the place latest modifications—ending its long-held coverage of two free checked baggage and transferring away from open seating—minimize to the core of what the airline has lengthy been identified for.

But talking at Fortune’s COO Summit on Tuesday, Southwest’s EVP and Chief Customer & Brand Officer Tony Roach acknowledged the magnitude of the modifications, evaluating the shift away from open seating to “changing the engine in the car.” He argued the strikes have been obligatory for the airline’s long-term survival—not a departure from its id.

“We are a brand that’s been iconic, but we want to be sustainable,” Roach instructed a crowd of execs on the “The Bold Bets That Are Reshaping Customer Experience Today” panel. “And so fundamentally we need to change our business model, so that we have the future to look forward to.”

Southwest has additionally pushed additional upmarket, including extra premium choices to compete for higher-spending vacationers. But Roach mentioned the airline is just not essentially making an attempt to imitate bigger rivals.

“All we’re doing is widening in aperture to be able to add more premium into the mix,” he mentioned. “It doesn’t mean we’re trying to be Delta, because we don’t think we need to be Delta to be successful.”

Despite headwinds within the airline house specifically as a result of rising gasoline costs, Southwest’s inventory is up greater than 25% during the last 12 months. Roach described the corporate as “running better than it was before.”

Shifting shopper habits pushed MGM to launch its first all-inclusive bundle—now a takeover bid is elevating the stakes

Southwest is just not alone in having to transform its worth proposition. 

MGM Resorts—greatest identified for Las Vegas properties together with Mandalay Bay and Bellagio—has confronted related stress as shifting shopper habits weigh on tourism spending. Las Vegas welcomed 38.5 million guests in 2025, down 7.5% from the 12 months prior, according to the city’s Convention and Visitors Authority, underscoring the challenges dealing with the broader hospitality sector.

“We had to really redefine what value means in the context of our portfolio,” Ayesha Molino, MGM Resorts International’s COO, mentioned within the Fortune panel alongside Roach.

“We heard loud and clear last year from our customers that they felt like they weren’t getting that value proposition from Vegas anymore, particularly at our core properties,” Molino added through the dialog. “So we listened, we heard it, we changed.”

Part of that rethink has included the launch of MGM’s first all-inclusive experience package, bundling lodge rooms, resort charges, parking, meals, and leisure right into a single mounted worth—a direct response to buyer issues over affordability and hidden prices.

The firm’s recalibration comes at a pivotal second. Media mogul Barry Diller—whose firm already holds a 26.1% stake in MGM—this week proposed an $18 billion bid to take over the on line casino operator, arguing the enterprise has but to succeed in its full potential.

Molino briefly acknowledged the proposed deal however emphasised that MGM’s instant focus stays operational execution.

“The trick is really to make sure that we keep our 60,000 employees focused on what they need to do every single day, which is deliver the best guest services possible,” Molino mentioned. “And at our scale, it is a big task to keep that population focused, but I think our leaders are well positioned to do it, and everyone is very zoned in on the task at hand.”

In the meantime, Molino mentioned MGM is conserving each choice on the desk to make the client expertise as seamless as attainable—together with revisiting advertising and marketing methods and rethinking reserving flows.