Southwest hikes bag fees less than a year after ending 'bags fly free'
It's been less than a year since Southwest Airlines ended its longtime "bags fly free" policy and started charging most customers to check a bag.
Now, the airline is raising its prices.
Southwest just revealed the cost to check a bag will rise from $35 to $45 beginning with tickets booked later this week. That's a jump of $10, or about 28%.
The changes will apply to all tickets booked from Thursday, April 9, and beyond.
The Dallas-based carrier also hiked fees for customers' second checked bag by $10.
The move comes as airlines have faced skyrocketing jet fuel costs amid a rapid run-up in global oil prices.
Southwest attributed this week's fee hike to "an ongoing analysis of the business and against the evolving global backdrop."
The move comes after JetBlue and United Airlines already announced higher baggage fees last week. And Delta Air Lines followed suit Tuesday.
U.S. airlines have historically tended to follow one another in hiking luggage prices.
Southwest, though, was previously immune to that industry trend for many years as it let all customers check two bags for free. But that policy ended last May amid a larger transformation of the airline's policies, which included launching assigned seating in January.
Now, the airline has implemented bag fees — and raised them — in less than a year's time.
Keep in mind, A-List members of the airline's Rapid Rewards loyalty program will maintain their baggage perks, as will customers who carry a Southwest cobranded credit card.
As of Tuesday evening, three of the four largest U.S. carriers had hiked bag fees within the past week — with American Airlines (for now, at least) the lone holdout.