For many years, Southwest Airlines had a cult following. While some people loathed the no-assigned-seats policy, others celebrated it and were more than willing to take their chances in return for a cheap ticket and free checked bags. Now, however, many once-devoted Southwest fliers say the carrier is "just like every other airline" after the company implemented paid assigned seats and, as of today, announced it will begin charging passengers for checked bags.
RELATED: Southwest Flyers Threaten Boycott After Airline Kills Open Seating: "Devastating."
Southwest is implementing its new seating policy later this year.
In a Sept. 2024 press release, Southwest released its "Southwest. Even Better." plan to investors, which included the new seating policy. It read as follows:
"Airline passengers now have a clear preference for seat assignments: 80 percent of Southwest Customers and 86 percent of passengers who choose other airlines want assigned seats. Southwest flies farther than ever, and seat assignments are a higher priority on long-haul flights. The Company expects to begin selling assigned seats in the second half of 2025, with its first flights operating with the new model in the first half of 2026."
As Best Lifeexplained at the time, "The cheapest fares don't include an assigned seat unless passengers pay an additional fee, while pricier tickets include a free seat selection. Reconfigured cabins will give way to new premium seating with extra legroom, which will also be available for purchase."
Today, Southwest announced that it will also launch a new, basic economy fare. According to the Wall Street Journal, this will be a "bare-bones fare...with restrictions galore" that includes no seat assignment.
After May 28, Southwest will start charging for checked bags.
Perhaps the biggest takeaway from today's announcement is that for flights booked on or after May 28, a fee will be charged for a traveler's first and second checked bags.
This is the first time in the airline's 54-year history that every passenger will not receive two free checked bags. In fact, as the WSJ notes, Southwest went so far as to trademark the phrase "Bags fly free."
According to CBS News, there are a few exceptions to the rule. The following passengers will be allowed one free checked bag:
- Frequent flyer A-List Members
- Southwest-branded credit card holders
- Rapid Rewards A-List Preferred members (Southwest's most elite status)
- Those who book the "top-tier" Business Select fares
Southwest hasn't announced the prices for checked bagsWith , but "airline sources say it will be competitive with other carriers," reports CBS. For context, the WSJ outlined the following bag frees for other major airlines:
- Delta: $35 for a first checked bag, $45 for a second
- American: $35 or $40 for a first checked bag, depending on if you prepaid, $45 for a second
- United: $35 or $40 for a first checked bag, depending on if you prepaid, $45 for a second
- JetBlue between $35 and $50 for a first checked bag, between $50 and $70 for a second
The new checked bag policy is a sharp reversal for the company.
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Today's announcement took many by surprise, as just this past September, Southwest assured customers that its free checked bags weren't going anywhere.
"Extensive research reinforces Southwest’s bags fly free policy remains the most important feature by far in setting Southwest apart from other airlines," reads the Sept. press release. "Based on Southwest’s research, the Company believes that any change in the current policy that provides every Customer two free checked bags would drive down demand and far outweigh any revenue gains created by imposing and collecting bag fees."
So what changed?
Last year, activist Elliott Investment Management took a $1.9 billion stake in Southwest, gaining five board seats, as CNBC explains. Elliott was quick to push for leadership changes and new policies that would get Southwest, the largest U.S. domestic carrier, on the same playing field as its biggest competitors, "which together generated more than $5 billion from bag fees last year, according to federal data," notes CNBC.
"What's changed is that we've come to realize that we need more revenue to cover our costs," COO Andrew Watterson told CNBC. "We think that these changes that we're announcing today will lead to less of that share shift than would have been the case otherwise."
Southwest travelers say they'll boycott the airline over the new changes.
For most of us, what airline we fly comes down to convenience and affordability. Southwest, however, was perhaps the last airline that had a clientele devoted to its overall ethos. But it looks like that's all about to change.
In a Reddit thread reacting to today's checked bag news, fliers are voicing their frustration that Southwest is now no different than any other airline.
"Oof, gut punch and likely the last straw for my loyalty. Just another airline now and will choose my carrier based on lowest total price now. Off to trade in my SW CCs for their United counterparts," wrote one unhappy traveler.
"I'm unreasonably irate. I've been loyal to Southwest my entire life. I buy tickets from Southwest without even checking other airline ticket prices. I'm totally finished with Southwest now. I won't fly with them even if they're cheapest by $100+," said another.
"Welp, my loyalty is gone for this company. Don’t fly enough for A-list but it was the only airline I flew. About 4 times a year. I’ve never seen a company self-destruct so fast," lamented someone else.
Even Southwest workers agree: "As an employee this is honestly the worst thing they have ever done, nothing separates them from any other competitor now."
"If I were Delta, United, or American, I’d be tripling my ad budget to try to score SW defectors," chimed in another disgruntled customer.
One traveler added that the new policy is likely to "make the battle for overhead storage even worse."
People responded that this could lead to many travelers trying to shrewdly beat the checked bag fee: "It’ll be like a lot of other airlines where every passenger is doing their best work to avoid paying for checked bags. So SW will then end up gate checking a bunch of bags for free."
