Southwest’s New Bag Fees Leak Just One Day Before They Hit – Here’s How They Compare With Rivals

What’s Changing On May 28

Most bookings made on or after May 28, 2025, will incur a charge to check a bag into the aircraft hold:

• $35 for the first checked bag
• $45 for a second checked bag

There are, however, three ways to avoid Southwest’s new checked bag fees:

1. Buy the most expensive Business Select fare, which will still include two free checked bags.
2. Earn elite status with Southwest: A-List Preferred members will get two free checked bags, while A-List members will get the first checked bag for free.
3. Hold a Southwest cobranded Rapid Rewards credit card to get the first checked bag for free for the cardholder and up to eight passengers on the same booking.

The Full Story

Southwest first announced its intention to start charging for checked baggage on March 11, ending its iconic and much-loved ‘Bags Fly Free’ policy that had set the airline apart from many of its rivals.

The announcement came just six months after chief executive Bob Jordan promised not to charge for checked luggage because “extensive research” had shown that Bags Fly Free was the airline’s “most important feature by far.”

All bookings made up to the end of May 27, 2025, will still benefit from the Bags Fly Free policy, even if the flight is set to depart after this date.

Behind The Scenes

The decision to axe its Bags Fly Free policy came just months after Southwest reached a controversial deal with activist investor Elliot, which has acquired a large number of shares in the Dallas-based carrier and placed its pick of five directors on Southwest’s board.

Throughout 2024, Elliot had run a high-profile campaign to effectively take over the management of Southwest, arguing that the airline had to change if it were to compete with rivals and turn around its lagging financial performance.

Many of Elliot’s strategies have been around aligning Southwest’s policies with most other US-based airlines, such as increasing the number of fare types and creating new ancillary revenue streams (like charging for checked bags);

What Other Changes Are Coming to Southwest

In a desperate bid to fend off Elliot, Southwest had already announced a slew of major changes that are set to take effect over the coming months:

• Southwest’s iconic open seating policy will end completely early next year – assigned seating will slowly be rolled out by the end of 2025.
• New premium extra legroom seats are being installed across Southwest’s fleet – and will, of course, have a $$$ surcharge.
• Red-eye flights started earlier this year to improve aircraft utilization and will expand over the coming months.
• For the first time, Southwest has made its flights available to book through Expedia and affiliated sites like Travelocity and Orbitz.
• The earning rate for Rapid Rewards points Wanna Get Away and Wanna Get Away Plus fares have been slashed, while variable redemption rates will also soon be introduced.

How Do Southwest’s Bag Fees Compare to Rivals?

It’s probably no surprise that Southwest’s new baggage fees come very close to what many other US airlines charge and it could have been a lot worse.

United Airlines: $35 for the first checked bag, $45 for the second checked bag if purchased at least 24 hours before departure. Otherwise, $40 will be charged for the first bag and $50 for the second bag. A third checked bag always costs $150.

Alaska Airlines: $35 for the first checked bag and $45 for the second checked bag.

JetBlue: Standard bag fees for the first checked bag start at $35 but rise to $40 for travel during peak periods. If bought within 24 hours of travel, prices rise even higher to $45 for an off-peak flight and $50 during peak travel dates.