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Southwest Airlines has completely upended its business model and some of the latest changes take effect tomorrow. Back in March, I wrote about Southwest Airlines announcing changes that would make the carrier feel nothing like what it has for the entirety of its operation. Its trademark free checked bags were going away for many, it’s introducing variable redemption rates, and future flight credits will once again expire. We had no word on the cost of these checked bags, until now.
An internal memo that leaked today shows that Southwest will charge $35 for the first checked bag and $45 for the second checked bag. There are some exceptions to these charges, but most passengers should be prepared to carry on their bags or pay. Exceptions include:
- Those on Southwest Business Select fares. They will receive two free checked bags
- Southwest A-List Preferred members will receive two free checked bags. Southwest A-List members will receive one free checked bag
- Southwest co-branded credit card members will also receive one free checked bag
Elite members and credit cardholders can extend their benefits to up to eight people traveling on the same reservation.
Anthony’s Take: The question remains whether assigned seating, checked bag fees, and other measures will be enough to right the finances of the airline. I think people will steer away and this will further hurt Southwest. We’ll need to wait and see.
(Image Credits: Vicky Boyd via X and Southwest Airlines.)
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Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
