Southwest Ends 'Bags Fly Free' After Nearly Five Decades
Two free bags and no assigned seats were the whole pitch for fifty years. An activist investor had other ideas.
For nearly its entire history, Southwest Airlines built its brand around two things almost no other US carrier offered: two free checked bags, and no assigned seats.
In 2025, both went away. The airline began charging most fare classes for checked bags starting May 28, 2025, and rolled out assigned, tiered seating with extra-legroom upsells — bringing Southwest in line with the fee structures at Delta, American, and United.
The shift followed sustained pressure from activist investor Elliott Management, which took a stake in Southwest in 2024 and pushed for changes to boost revenue per passenger.
"Bags Fly Free" had been Southwest's tagline since long before most of its current customers were flying. It is now, like the leg room and the boarding line, something you can pay to get back.
