> I can see airlines like Southwest making wifi free just like how they provide checked bags for free.

Southwest is not providing free bags out of the goodness of their hearts. It’s purely a profit-oriented business decision.

- Free bags means fewer people putting carry on bags in the overhead bins.

- Fewer carry on bags means faster boarding.

- Faster boarding means less time spent at the gate.

- Less time spent at the gate means the plane is in the air for more time.

- More time the plane is in the air means more profit made (generally speaking, provided loads, schedule and routing allows)

To be fair, this doesn’t consider the fuel costs of the extra 46 kg or so of baggage allowance that passengers have, the additional check-in desks that need to be “kiosked” and/or staffed, etc.

I’m sure it still works out for them, but it’s far from obvious and probably depends on many passengers not maximizing their allowance.