Southwest Airlines is doing away with the one policy that made the carrier stand out from the competition.
Starting May 28, the airline will no longer allow every passenger two free checked bags.
Southwest is dropping that longstanding—and obviously very popular—policy as it applies to most customers. Instead, only Rapid Rewards A-List Preferred Members and flyers traveling on Business Select fares will continue to get two free checked bags on Southwest flights, according to a news release.
A-List Members and “other select customers” will get one free checked bag, and Rapid Rewards Credit Cardmembers will get a credit for one checked bag.
Everybody else will be charged a fee for checking a first or second bag. Weight and size limitations apply. Southwest has not yet announced what its checked bag fees will be. Other major U.S. airlines typically charge at least $35 for one bag.
Fees for checked bags have, of course, become the norm across the commercial aviation industry, but Southwest’s bucking of that trend was a major point in its favor as the company promoted itself as exceptionally friendly to customers.
But, as Frommer’s explained last summer, Southwest’s egalitarian customer-friendliness has slowly eroded in the face of a decline in profitability and the eagerness of investors to boost revenue.
In addition to adding checked bag fees, new measures include, as the Southwest news release puts it, “the forthcoming implementation of assigned seating and extra legroom options.”
Additionally, Southwest is making changes to its loyalty program, letting passengers earn more points with Business Select fares. And the carrier is introducing a new Basic fare for customers in search of the lowest fares—and willing to put up with the most restrictions.
Also starting May 28, there will be less flexibility with flight credits, which will now “expire one year or earlier from the date of ticketing,” per the release. Another recent change: Southwest flights can finally be booked via Expedia, as of last month, rather than solely through Southwest.
So in other words, Southwest’s current policy for boosting revenue is to become like any other airline rather than trying to stand out via affordability and attractive perks for all passengers.
Southwest has at last learned what other U.S. airlines discovered a while ago: Adopting profoundly unpopular policies needn’t stand in the way of making money.