Final boarding call for free bags at Southwest as airline abandons a cherished perk

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writer It s the last day to book a flight on Southwest Airlines without being hit with a fee to check bags after the airline abandoned a decades-long luggage agenda that executives once described as key to differentiating the budget carrier from its rivals Related Articles Tapville Social building sells for M as developers plan Ballpark hotel Bandimere Speedway owners secure first parcel northeast of Denver for future track site Trump threatens tariffs on EU and penalties on smart phones as his arrangement war intensifies Tariff Therapy Oasis room offered at Denver business conference Sponsored Tariffs stock domain fluctuations make luxury home buyers skittish The airline revealed the change in March saying at the time that the the new framework would start with flights booked on Wednesday Southwest noted Tuesday that it will be charging for a first checked bag and for a second checked bag Weight and size limits will apply for bags Southwest had built years of advertising campaigns around its guidelines of letting passengers check up to two bags for free Under its new initiative people who haven t either reached the upper tiers of its Rapid Rewards loyalty effort bought a business class ticket or hold the airline s credit card will have to pay for checked bags Southwest will continue to offer two free checked bags to Rapid Rewards A-List preferred members and customers traveling on Business Select fares and one free checked bag to A-List members and other select customers Passengers with Rapid Rewards credit cards will receive a credit for one checked bag People who don t qualify for those categories will get charged to check bags The airline declared in March that it also would roll out a new basic fare on its lowest priced tickets when the change takes effect The airline estimated in September that charging bag fees would bring in about billion a year but cost the airline billion in lost business from customers who chose to fly Southwest because of its generous baggage allowance Another initiative that will take effect on Wednesday is Southwest requiring passengers to keep their portable chargers in plain sight while using them because of concerns about the growing number of lithium-ion battery fires These aren t the only changes at Southwest The Dallas airline previously broadcasted that it was leaving behind another Southwest tradition the open-boarding system it has used for more than years Southwest expects to begin operating flights with passengers in assigned seats next year The airline also announced last year that it would charge customers extra for more legroom and offer red-eye flights Southwest has struggled in recent weeks and is under pressure from activist investors to boost profits and revenue The airline reached a truce in October with hedge fund Elliott Venture Management to avoid a proxy fight but Elliott won several seats on the company s board The airline disclosed in February that it was eliminating jobs or of its corporate workforce in the first major layoffs in the company s -year history Shares of Southwest Airlines Co rose at the opening bell Tuesday along with other carriers in an up day for the sector