Southwest dropping ’bags fly free’ policy

Tuesday, 11 Mar, 2025 2

Southwest Airlines 2.0 is here, and now resembles almost every other airline.

The airline is scrapping its last true differential in the US market.

The much loved ‘bags fly free’ policy for all is ending.

It announced the policy change this week which means fliers will have to pay for checked bags if they are not preferred loyalty members or traveling business class.

It will start charging for checked bags from May 28, 2025.

Southwest hasn’t yet disclosed how much the fee will be.

“We have tremendous opportunity to meet current and future customer needs, attract new customer segments we don’t compete for today, and return to the levels of profitability that both we and our shareholders expect,” Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan said.

It was welcome news for the markets, which saw a bump in the Southwest share price.

The airline’s Rapid Rewards A-List Preferred Members and travelers on business fares will still get two free checked bags.

A-List members and ‘other select customers’ will receive one free checked bag.

Last year Southwest announced its other major differentiator – open seating – was ending in favor of the industry standard assigned seating.

TravelMole Editorial Team

Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.

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