Starting on May 28, most passengers on Southwest flights have to pay an additional baggage fee, a change from the company’s longstanding Bags Fly Free policy.
Starting with flights booked on May 28, Southwest will now charge $35 for the first checked bag and $45 for the second, The Wall Street Journal reported.
It was the only major carrier that allowed free checked baggage, The New York Times reported.
The fees will also be added to flights that may have been booked before Wednesday but voluntarily changed, including name updates or ticket changes, Southwest said.
The only people who will not have to pay the fee will be those who book the highest tier, called Business Select. Frequent fliers who are A-List Preferred Members will also have free bags. While A-List Members will get a free single bag, as will Rapid Rewards Credit Card customers. Hawaii residents flying between the islands will also get their two bags for free.
Those flying on the same reservation as a person who gets free baggage will also get the same free baggage.
For flights that were booked before May 28, but occur after that day, there will still not be a fee tacked on to the cost, but weight and size limits still apply, the company said.
Southwest, despite having no baggage fee for the first two bags, still collected $83 million in 2024 from passengers who checked three bags or had overweight luggage, CNN reported.
American passengers paid $1.5 billion, United earned $1.3 billion and Delta charged $1 billion just in baggage fees over that same time.
In addition to the baggage fees, later this year, Southwest will begin instituting seating assignments as part of its “enhanced experience.” The current opening seating plan will go away sometime in the second half of 2025 for flights that take off in 2026.
It is also changing the “Wanna Get Away” fare to basic economy that comes with restrictions, CNN reported.
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