Last Day for Free Bags at Southwest

It's the last day to book a flight on Southwest Airlines without being hit with a fee to check bags after the airline abandoned a decades-long luggage policy that executives once described as key to differentiating the budget carrier from its rivals. The airline announced the change in March, saying that the new policy would start with flights booked on Wednesday. Southwest said Tuesday that it will be charging $35 for a first checked bag and $45 for a second checked bag, reports the AP.

Southwest had built years of advertising campaigns around its policy of letting passengers check up to two bags for free. Under its new policy, people who haven't reached the upper tiers of its Rapid Rewards loyalty program, haven't bought a business-class ticket, or don't hold the airline's credit card will have to pay for checked bags. Southwest will continue to offer two free checked bags to Rapid Rewards A-List preferred members and customers traveling on Business Select fares, and one free checked bag to A-List members and other select customers. Passengers with Rapid Rewards credit cards will receive a credit for one checked bag.

The airline said in March that it also would roll out a new, basic fare on its lowest priced tickets when the change takes effect. The airline estimated in September that charging bag fees would bring in about $1.5 billion a year but cost the airline $1.8 billion in lost business from customers who chose to fly Southwest because of its generous baggage allowance. Another policy that will take effect on Wednesday is Southwest requiring passengers to keep their portable chargers in plain sight while using them because of concerns about the growing number of lithium-ion battery fires.

story continues below

Southwest previously announced that it was ditching another tradition, the open-boarding system it has used for more than 50 years. Southwest expects to begin operating flights with passengers in assigned seats next year. The airline announced in February that it was eliminating 1,750 jobs, or 15% of its corporate workforce, in the first major layoffs in the company's 53-year history. (The US' best and worst airlines.)