Your Bags Are Not Free Anymore

Southwest Airlines, once the champion of "bags fly free" -- and that gleefully mocked competitors' baggage fees -- has decided to go over to the dark side. Starting May 28, most passengers will need to shell out some cash if they want to check luggage. We're sure the marketing departments at American, Delta, and United are already working on their new commercials. But let's dig into this and see what it means to us normal folks.

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Here are Five Fast Facts on Southwest's new baggage fees:

1. 💲 New Fees - Southwest will charge $35 for the first checked bag and $45 for the second, ending its free checked bags policy with extreme prejudice.

2. 🚫 Exceptions Apply - Passengers with the airline's credit card, elite status, or those booking the highest fare category will still enjoy at least one free checked bag. How much do you want to bet their credit card applications will skyrocket soon?

3. 👎 Basic Economy Introduction - Alongside the baggage fee, Southwest is introducing basic economy tickets, replacing its "Wanna Get Away" fares. These tickets come with restrictions like no flight changes, no seat selection, and shorter validity for flight credits. In other words, they're pretty much like everyone else now.

4. 😡 Operational Challenges - The new baggage policy may lead to longer check-in times and increased carry-on baggage, potentially affecting Southwest's strong on-time performance. Also, the aggravation level of its customers.

5. 📈 Revenue Boost - Analysts project that the new baggage fees could boost Southwest's profits by over $400 million annually. To be fair, that's a pretty persuasive argument.

🔥Bottom line: Southwest Airlines is making significant changes to its policies, and while these moves should increase revenue and align with industry standards, they mark a departure from the airline's traditional customer-friendly approach. Passengers should at minimum be prepared for these changes, even if it means considering a different airline.

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Are these changes going to affect your travel plans at all?

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