Travelers at Baltimore/Washington Thurgood Marshall Airport told WJZ that free baggage checks were one of the reasons they chose Southwest Airlines

But after 54 years, Southwest is departing from its "two bags on us" policy, where all passengers could check two bags for free. Now, only some customers will get that perk, while others will be forced to pay up.

"Being able to choose your own seat and the free bags is a major reason why we choose Southwest," said passenger Brandi Bare.

Starting May 28 — just in time for the busy summer travel season — only Southwest's most elite Rapid Rewards A-List Preferred members and passengers who book their top-tier Business Select fares will receive two free checked bags. Frequent flyer A-List Members, Southwest-branded credit card holders and other select customers will be allowed one checked bag.

Everyone else will be charged for their first and second checked bags on flights booked on or after May 28, the carrier says.

"What are you doing to elevate that experience for the customers? If you're charging for bags and doing these other things, but you're not making any other changes to improve the flight experience, it's kind of a lose-lose situation," traveler Charity Williams said.

Southwest takes away flight incentives

Southwest's new baggage check policy comes after the airline announced it was getting rid of its open-seating policy starting in 2026.

These two hallmarks separated the carrier from other domestic airlines. 

In September 2024, Southwest CEO Bob Jordan told CBS Transportation Reporter Kris Van Cleave that bags would continue to fly without charge.

"Bags will still fly free," Jordan said. "It's the third thing customers look for after fare and schedule: Bags fly free, on us. Ninety-seven percent are people who are aware of our policies. So it's a huge consumer advantage. So bags will absolutely fly free."

But when pressed if they'd always fly free, Jordan acknowledged, "Well, never say never. … It's like saying open seating would never change 20 years ago. Consumer preferences change, but from everything that we see, there's no reason to reconsider this at all, especially right now."

Will this change the traveling experience?

Passengers at BWI Airport are wondering if paying more will change their traveler experience.

Awa Ndiaye and Charity Williams, both out-of-state law students at Penn, State University, told WJZ they use Southwest's two-bag free policy to travel to and from the school during breaks.

"I had so much stuff to bring from Houston and I decided to fly with Southwest to the Baltimore airport so that I could finally drive to State College, but now that this policy has been instilled, it's just changed a lot for me," Ndiaye said.

They also choose to drive from Pennsylvania to BWI, instead of flying out of another airport, because they prefer Southwest.

"A lot of our parents kind of send us here with the understanding that there will be convenient options, like Southwest, for traveling in and out of town," Williams said. "[It] kind of gives that assurance that at least with the two checkbags, we won't have anything to worry about."

Preferred member perks

On the other hand, frequent fliers will still get free checked bags as a perk. Abby Bruns says she is an A-list preferred member who will still be able to check for free.

"Fortunately for us, we travel enough that we're considered A-listers, so it doesn't affect us," Bruns said.

John Godbold, who is also an A-list preferred member and flies Southwest for work and pleasure travel, thinks the airline will be more impacted by the open-seating change, which he believes would bring more customers to the airline.

"Now it's going to bring in some more travelers who say, 'I have an assigned seat, maybe Southwest is now an option. Maybe I didn't fly them before.' I do think it will create a lot more travelers for them."