After decades of setting itself apart from the rest of the airline industry by including free checked bags with every ticket and resisting the rush to sell stripped-down basic economy fares, everything changes on Wednesday for Southwest Airlines and its flyers. Here's your last chance to book Southwest tickets under the current rules.

Any Southwest flights booked Tuesday, May 27 – for travel as far out as late January 2026 – will still get two free checked bags. But effective Wednesday, May 28, Southwest will begin charging $35 for a first checked bag and $45 for a second bag, the airline confirmed just one day beforehand. Travelers with Southwest status or one of the airline's co-branded credit cards can still get a free checked bag or even two, as can flyers who buy the airline's priciest new “Choice Extra” fares.

But for everyone else, bags will no longer fly free for tickets purchased Wednesday and onwards. That's the same day Southwest will start selling its new “basic” fares which board last, can't be changed, and give flyers just six months to use flight credits if they cancel a ticket.

It's the start of a sea change for Southwest which will eventually see the airline install extra legroom seating and ditch its polarizing open-seating model. But ending its beloved “Bags Fly Free” policy is undeniably the biggest change in the company's history. 

 

 

Southwest shocked the travel world earlier this spring by announcing it would end its hallmark free luggage policy, reneging on a vow executives made just months prior that they would continue checking bags for free because they believed that made them more money in the long run.

Once beloved by both Wall Street and everyday travelers alike for posting consecutive profits while offering consumer-friendly policies, the airline has been struggling financially in the post-pandemic travel boom. And an activist investor, Elliott Management Group, has pushed Southwest's leadership to make changes that it believes will make them more money … by doing what its competitors have been doing for years.

Baggage fees are big, big business for airlines. U.S. carriers raked in more than $7.2 billion in luggage fees alone last year, according to federal data – and unlike the actual fares they charge, airlines don't have to pay federal taxes on those extras.

Southwest and its shareholders clearly wants a slice of that pie … and that's just the start. 

  • The airline's famous “Wanna Get Away” fares will disappear Wednesday, making way for a stingier new “Basic” fare
  • Southwest is installing extra legroom seats at the front of planes (and exit rows), shrinking legroom throughout the rest of the cabin in the process
  • They'll also begin charging for seat assignments sometime later this year, for travel in 2026
  • That means Southwest's controversial open-seating model – where you pick your seat as you board – will also disappear, as will its quirky boarding process in favor of a new, nine-group process
  • In addition to free bags and seat selection, the airline has indicated it's adding new perks to its portfolio of co-branded credit cards 

Read more: The Times are A-Changin’ at Southwest: What Happens When?

 

Bottom Line

We've had the day circled on our calendars for months, and it's almost here. 

Effective Wednesday, May 28, Southwest's “Bags Fly Free” policy is officially over. That means today is your last chance to buy Southwest tickets – for travel as far out as late January 2026 – and still get free checked luggage.