Sweden: Are more relaxed measures working?

4/9/20 8:00PM

More than 100 countries around the world have implemented either a full or partial lockdown to help fight the spread of coronavirus. **Sweden is not one of those countries.**‍

‍Sweden's different approach

‍The Swedish authorities have opted for more relaxed measures that aim to isolate confirmed cases as much as possible, while keeping schools for younger children, restaurants and most shops and businesses open. That policy is very different to neighboring Scandinavian countries such as Denmark, Finland & Norway, all of which imposed some form of lockdown more than 3 weeks ago.

In fairness, life is still far from normal in Sweden. There are still social distancing guidelines and traffic data from Citymapper suggests that planned trips in Stockholm have fallen 70%, with most Swedes working from home if they can.

Unfortunately, the last week seems to suggest that those measures might not be enough. Sweden has now recorded almost 800 deaths from coronavirus, twice as many as its Scandinavian neighbors combined.

Sweden's strategy to save its economy some pain in the long run was a bold one, but if deaths in the country keep rising at this rate it probably hasn't worked.

Max Knoblauch15h

American Airlines joins the flock, hiking bag fees amid higher jet fuel prices

American Airlines on Thursday announced that it, too, will be hiking the fees it charges customers to check luggage.

With the move, all four of the major US airlines, which together control about 80% of the US market, have now hiked their baggage fees in recent days amid surging jet fuel prices.

The change will go into effect on tickets bought on or after Thursday, the same day Southwest’s hike begins.

Since late March, JetBlue, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Canada’s WestJet, and Southwest have hiked their fees. Experts expect more major carriers to follow, and to potentially tweak the pricing of other ancillary revenue sources like seat assignments and carry-on luggage.

American Airlines updates bag fees and Basic Economy fares

The change will go into effect on tickets bought on or after Thursday, the same day Southwest’s hike begins.

Max Knoblauch17h

Less than a year after implementing them, Southwest is also hiking its bag fees

Southwest Airlines has joined the growing list of airlines opting to hike their bag fees amid sustained higher jet fuel costs.

Starting today, the first checked bag at the carrier — which implemented bag fees less than a year ago — will jump from $35 to $45, and the second from $45 to $55. Southwest quietly disclosed the change Tuesday.

Southwest assigned the decision to “part of an ongoing analysis of the business and against the evolving global backdrop.”

As of Wednesday, jet fuel prices dropped to $4.16 a gallon, per the Argus US Jet Fuel Index, down from $4.81 on Tuesday following President Trump’s ceasefire announcement, which sent travel stocks soaring. Major airlines have shed some of those gains in premarket trading Thursday.

With the move to hike bag fees, Southwest joins JetBlue, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Canada’s WestJet, all of which also boosted fees this month. Experts expect more major carriers to follow, and to potentially tweak the pricing of other ancillary revenue sources like seat assignments and carry-on luggage.