--- title: 'Farewell, Free Bags: Soon, Every U.S. Airline Will Charge You to Check Luggage' description: Southwest Airlines ends its free baggage policy for flights after May 28, 2025. Read about new fees and changes to its luggage policy. authors: - name: Adam Hardy role: Lead Data Reporter url: https://money.com/author/adam-hardy/ bio: Adam Hardy is a lead data journalist at Money, where he frequently reports on financial barriers that affect low-income Americans. Adam’s work has also appeared in Business Insider, Forbes, Nasdaq, The Penny Hoarder, Yahoo! Finance and more than a dozen local and regional newspapers. education: University of South Florida, BA, Magazine Journalism at_money_since: 2021 articles: 499 covers: - Lifestyle - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - The Penny Hoarder - Forbes Advisor - Creative Loafing - The New York Times - The Washington Post - Bloomberg - Harvard Law School - The Federal Register - National Consumer Law Center - CBS News - Becker's Hospital Review - Business Insider - Mother Jones - The Week - Fortune - The Philadelphia Inquirer - National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NAFSAA) - Education Advisory Board (EAB) - The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS) - This Morning with Gordon Deal - Empower - Reddit social: - https://www.x.com/hardyjournalism - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hardyjournalism/ editors: - name: Katherine Peach role: Associate Editor url: https://money.com/author/katherine-peach/ bio: Katherine Peach is an associate editor with a focus on news and email at Money. She didn’t always intend to write about money. She’s a classically trained pianist who dreamed of becoming an archaeologist. However, in 2007 Katherine began working in financial publishing as an editor for Agora Inc. (Apparently, unearthing ideas about improving your personal finances isn’t such a bad career alternative!) Katherine’s writing and editing work has been featured in Investing Daily, Clever, Investor Junkie, The Palm Beach Letter, Truth & Plenty, Independence Monthly, NICHE, AmericanStyle, AntiqueWeek, Millennial Money, Money Done Right, TheStreet, Sure Dividend and many others. Katherine holds a Bachelor of Arts in Ancient Studies with concentrations in Archaeology and Ancient Languages and a minor in Literature from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. education: University of Maryland, Baltimore County at_money_since: 2025 articles: 14 covers: - Lifestyle - Banking - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Federal Reserve Rate Cuts - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes published: '2025-03-12T20:46:02.000Z' modified: '2025-03-12T20:46:02.000Z' section: Lifestyle tags: - News word_count: 592 canonical: https://money.com/southwest-airlines-checked-bag-fee/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Photo illustration of a person pushing a big suitcase, with multiple twenty dollar bills in the background](https://img.money.com/2025/03/News-Paying-For-Luggage.jpg) It’s the end of an era. Southwest Airlines, which has not charged passengers for their first two checked bags since its founding nearly six decades ago, said on Tuesday that it will roll out a schedule of luggage fees for flights booked on May 28 and after. The end of the beloved free-baggage policy is part of a spate of changes aimed at helping the airline “return to levels of profitability that both we and our shareholders expect,” Southwest CEO Bob Jordan said in an [announcement](https://www.swamedia.com/news-and-stories/news-release/southwest-airlines-outlines-changes-to-drive-revenue-growth-and-reward-its-most-MCR5UCS6BF65HVRGPWNL43DHWTFY). ## With Travel Insurance, you'll be prepared for anything unexpected. ### Insure your upcoming trip with the right coverage that will protect you from delays, lost luggage, among others. Click on your state to find out more. [View Rates](https://money.com/pr/uf4722521324?ap_referrer=%2Fsouthwest-airlines-checked-bag-fee%2F) The airline said it would continue to offer two free checked bags to “A-List Preferred” and business-class passengers. “A-List” passengers will get one free checked bag, and Southwest [rewards](https://money.com/best-airline-rewards-programs/) cardholders will receive a credit statement reimbursing the baggage fee. One personal item and one carry-on bag will remain free. Southwest hasn’t yet released details on how much checked bags will cost, though rival carriers usually charge between $40 and $75 per checked bag. The company’s luggage policy reversal comes at a difficult time for the airline industry. Earlier this week, major airlines cut their earnings estimates, citing economic uncertainty as consumers and businesses trim their travel budgets. California wildfires, recession fears stemming from President Donald Trump’s tariff war, halted travel among government workers and a series of major plane crashes and malfunctions in recent months have all contributed to the industry’s woes. In February, Southwest said it plans to lay off 15% of its corporate workforce, or about 1,750 people. And in September, the airline announced it was getting rid of another longstanding policy: open seating. Assigned seating is expected to begin in 2026. ## How much do other airlines charge? Southwest was a lone holdout among major U.S. airlines, which have all started charging for checked bags over the past decade or so. American Airlines was the first to charge a checked-bag fee amid the Great Recession in 2008. The practice has proliferated in the industry since then, becoming a major source of revenue for airline carriers. According to a [2022 study](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9116065/), baggage fees account for 3.3% of revenue of the major legacy airlines (such as American or Delta). For budget airlines such as Spirit or Frontier, those fees make up over 21% of revenue. Here’s a look at airline baggage fees today among popular airlines for standard economy-class tickets. ### American Airlines - Free small personal item and one carry-on bag - First checked bag is $40 (or $35 if paying online) for domestic flights. Second bag is $45. - One free checked bag on [select international flights](https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/baggage/checked-baggage-policy.jsp) ### Delta Airlines - Free small personal item and one carry-on bag - First checked bag is $35 each way. Second bag is $45 each way for domestic flights. - One free checked bag on [certain international flights](https://www.delta.com/us/en/baggage/overview) ### JetBlue - Free small personal item and one carry-on bag - First checked bag is $45. Second bag is $60 for domestic flights. - For transatlantic flights, first bag is $65, and the second bag is $105. - Costs may increase $5-$10 per bag [during peak travel times](https://www.jetblue.com/at-the-airport/baggage-information). ### United Airlines - Only one personal item is free for domestic flights. - First checked bag typically costs $40 for domestic flights, and the second bag is $50. A $5 pre-pay discount may apply. - First checked bag is free on [select international flights](https://www.united.com/en/us/fly/baggage/checked-bags.html). In many cases, [airlines offer their own travel credit cards](https://money.com/best-airline-credit-cards/) that include free-baggage perks among other discounts. ### Quote, compare, and buy in minutes—best price guaranteed ![View Rates](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/28840/medium_dca16b05-03f8-4766-b735-a167b0e7c79d.png) Our Partner [View Rates](https://money.com/go/d0cffdde3a42?bidid=4074448585&pmeta=p129-c539-u24443&ptid=666849047&ptoken=ed068c829dddcff10f482d9554fa37fc) ### Fast Claims & 24/7 Travel Support ![View Rates](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/24823/medium_475a7712-9b54-4b36-af8f-1ea2de63eb95.png) Our Partner [View Rates](https://money.com/go/b07af78a15db?bidid=4074448596&pmeta=p129-c539-u24443&ptid=666849047&ptoken=f1f004d4b29cbeb679deff38bdf168dd) ### Travel concierge services with premium plans ![View Rates](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/37203/medium_ccee2cd0-9a93-479b-9b91-e6556173f7a6.webp) Our Partner [View Rates](https://money.com/go/359106ea9b65?bidid=4074448582&pmeta=p129-c539-u24443&ptid=666849047&ptoken=3bd9cbdd8f2ca84f3c45d301affd9540) ### Cancel-For-Any-Reason Coverage Options ![View Rates](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/37199/medium_f907be5a-b72c-4349-a7b7-3777f2c8ebcb.webp) Our Partner [View Rates](https://money.com/go/3b783a829b07?bidid=4074448589&pmeta=p129-c539-u24443&ptid=666849047&ptoken=377a2f6c24bdb0fa4f49b60673ef7984) ![View Rates](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/36540/medium_81b9bfac-0870-4abf-a1d5-f86d60d3c8e0.webp) Our Partner [View Rates](https://money.com/go/59cf7ab2bb32?bidid=4074448593&pmeta=p129-c539-u24443&ptid=666849047&ptoken=59e84996ed0ca5a8d568dab7260fe030) ![](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/28840/medium_dca16b05-03f8-4766-b735-a167b0e7c79d.png) Enjoy your trip worry-free with the help of Travel Insurance [View Rates](https://money.com/pr/v76af457ef6b?ap_referrer=%2Fsouthwest-airlines-checked-bag-fee%2F) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/southwest-airlines-checked-bag-fee/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Lifestyle", "item": "https://money.com/lifestyle/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Travel", "item": "https://money.com/travel/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Farewell, Free Bags: Soon, Every U.S. Airline Will Charge You to Check Luggage" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/southwest-airlines-checked-bag-fee/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/southwest-airlines-checked-bag-fee/", "name": "Farewell, Free Bags: Soon, Every U.S. Airline Will Charge You to Check Luggage", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2025-03-12T20:46:02.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/southwest-airlines-checked-bag-fee/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/southwest-airlines-checked-bag-fee/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2025-03-12T20:46:02.000Z" }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "Farewell, Free Bags: Soon, Every U.S. Airline Will Charge You to Check Luggage", "articleSection": "Lifestyle", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2025/03/News-Paying-For-Luggage.jpg", "width": 2160, "height": 1440, "caption": "News-Paying-For-Luggage" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Adam Hardy", "url": "https://money.com/author/adam-hardy/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/adam-hardy/#author", "description": "Adam Hardy is a lead data journalist at Money, where he frequently reports on financial barriers that affect low-income Americans. 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