Southwest Airlines for flights booked on or after May 28 will end its "two bags fly free" policy and begin to charge most travelers for first- and second-checked bags, the company announced Tuesday. Southwest did not immediately indicate what those charges would be.
Rapid Rewards A-List Preferred members and customers traveling on Business Select fares will continue to receive two free checked bags. A-List members and other "select customers" will receive one free checked bag.
Southwest also recently adjusted the number of Rapid Rewards points customers will earn on qualifying flights, with those on Business Select fares earning more and those on Wanna Get Away and Wanna Get Away Plus fares earning less. The carrier added that it would introduce variable redemption rates for its Rapid Rewards loyalty program across "higher-demand and lower-demand flights," but did not say when that would go into effect.
Also on May 28, the carrier said it would introduce a new Basic fare for its lowest-priced tickets. The company did not elaborate further on that fare category.
"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 president and CEO Bob Jordan said in a statement.
These changes follow several moves announced after activist investor Elliott Investment Management began pressuring the company in June 2024 in what has been a major transition for Southwest. The carrier has announced it would introduce assigned seating and extra legroom options, which the carrier plans to begin in 2026. In February it launched its first international partnership with Icelandair. That month it also began to operate red-eye flights.
Southwest in February announced it would cut 15 percent of its corporate workforce, a first-time move in the carrier's 53-year history. It also has lost key executives recently, including CFO Tammy Romo, who retired, and chief transformation officer Ryan Green, who resigned from the company.
Green during a September 2024 investor day event cited research Southwest had conducted on its free-checked-bag policy. That policy had "high awareness" among customers and "is far and away the top feature that differentiates Southwest from our competitors," he said. "It is one of the top criteria in why customers choose Southwest Airlines."
Prior to today's baggage announcement but after the other changes were announced, a corporate travel buyer expressed to BTN on condition of anonymity concern that Southwest's "culture is changing," the buyer said. "That's my biggest concern, that they're going to lose their kind of secret sauce to their success in making all the changes that are happening. … I thought they had really talented people, very different strategies, different ways that they operated and ran their business and it worked. … I just hope they don't lose all of that as we go forward."
In addition, Southwest updated its first-quarter guidance Tuesday morning ahead of Jordan's scheduled appearance at an analyst conference today. The carrier now projects revenue per available seat mile to increase 2 percent to 4 percent year over year compared with prior guidance of a 5 percent to 7 percent increase. Capacity is projected to be down 2 percent compared with a prior forecast of a 2 percent to 3 percent decline.
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