Passengers check in for Southwest Airlines flights at Chicago Midway International Airport on Feb. 18, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois.
Scott Olson | Getty Images
Set your alarm. Southwest Airlines customers have only someday to go before the corporate starts charging to examine bags for the primary time in greater than half a century.
Starting Wednesday, Southwest will end its blanket “two bags fly free” policy.
It was a perk that was sacrosanct amongst customers and the airlines’ longtime executives alike, setting the airline other than competitors. But baggage fees brought in nearly $7.3 billion for U.S. airlines last yr, in keeping with federal data, and Southwest executives who’ve long vowed to carry onto the policy have been under pressure to boost revenue.
The airline hasn’t yet said how much it would charge to examine bags, but rivals generally charge about $35 or $40 for a primary checked bag for domestic flights, though there are some exceptions.
Together with beginning to charge for checked bags, Southwest has announced major changes to its business model over the past yr, like eliminating open seating. The carrier can be debuting basic-economy tickets like those sold by Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and United Airlines on Wednesday.
Here’s what travelers should know in regards to the end of free bags on Southwest:
What’s changing?
Southwest will not offer two free checked bags with many tickets purchased on or after Wednesday. For tickets purchased before then, a Southwest spokesman said the carrier will honor the terms of those fares, just like the two free checked bags.
The fees will apply to its no-frills Basic, its Wanna Get Away Plus and its Anytime fares.
Southwest announced the policy in March after months of pressure from activist Elliott Investment Management, which took a stake within the airline last yr and won five board seats, pushing for major changes at the corporate like its free checked bags, changeable tickets and open seating.
Are there exemptions?
Yes. Travelers with top-tier status in Southwest’s Rapid Rewards loyalty program will get two free checked bags, as will customers within the highest-level Business Select fares.
Customers with a Southwest Airlines co-branded bank card and their travel companions booked along with the identical card won’t get charged for his or her first standard checked bag.
A-List frequent flyer members, the second-highest tier within the loyalty program, may also get their first bag checked freed from charge.
Latest fare type: Basic
Southwest on Wednesday may also start selling basic-economy tickets.
With the brand new Basic fare, customers won’t have the opportunity to make changes to their tickets, they’ll be among the many last customers to board and their fare credits will expire in six months, compared with 12 months for other ticket classes.
In one other change, the airline is ending its Wanna Get Away fare, which was the bottom tier ticket before the changes.
What about assigned seats?
Southwest has been known for its open-seating model for a long time. Loyalists often obsessively check in a day before their flight in hopes of scoring a positive boarding slot.
But later this yr, Southwest says it would start selling tickets for flights in 2026 that may have seat assignments. It is usually outfitting its planes with extra legroom seats, like a lot of its competitors, that fetch higher prices.
Can Southwest handle it?
Southwest executives have told staff that they expect passengers to hold on more luggage (those policies at no cost carry-ons aren’t changing) and have said the airline is installing larger overhead bins on its Boeing fleet, which should help with an influx of carry-on bags.
Executives have also said staff will get mobile bag-tag printers at gates and airport lobbies to help customers.
Are people mad?
Southwest can hardly post on social media — even about babies and puppies on board — without getting indignant comments in regards to the modified baggage policy.
“We have now seen no book-down on that day or after that day,” he said on “Squawk on the Street” on April 24.
