Southwest Airlines Proved the Experts Wrong After Ending Free Bags

A little over a year ago, Southwest Airlines made a rather bold move as the popular carrier decided to end its iconic "bags fly free" policy and began charging its customers for checked luggage after previously offering two complimentary bags to all of its customers.

The move came as the airline looked to boost profits and align itself more with competitors like Delta, United, and American. The move was not without controversy, however, as Southwest received plenty of pushback from customers and warnings from experts who predicted that the move would backfire.

Over a year later, however, it's become clear that the change worked out well for Southwest.

Southwest Decided to End Free Bags

In March 2025, Southwest Airlines announced that it would phase out its iconic and long-running "bags fly free" policy, replacing it with charges for checked baggage. At the time, CEO Bob Jordan framed the decision as a "tremendous opportunity" to strengthen the airline's financial performance.

"We have tremendous opportunity to meet current and future customer needs, attract new customer segments we don't compete for today, and return to the levels of profitability that both we and our shareholders expect," Jordan said at the time.

The airline officially began charging for checked bags on flights departing on or after May 28, 2025. Under the new structure, passengers paid $35 for their first checked bag and $45 for a second. A benefit that had previously allowed customers to check two bags free of charge suddenly came with an $80 cost.

Fewer than 12 months after introducing the baggage fees, Southwest increased them once again as global oil prices climbed amid the conflict in Iran. The carrier added $10 to each fee, raising the cost of a first checked bag to $45 and a second checked bag to $55. That means travelers now pay a combined $100 to check two bags-a service that had once been included at no additional charge.

Warnings From Experts

After ending its "bags fly free" policy, Southwest received a flurry of warnings from various experts who predicted that it would backfire for the airline.

Shortly after the policy change, credit rating agency Fitch Ratings issued a negative ratings outlook for Southwest Airlines, warning that such drastic changes could erode the airline's "competitive strengths" in the industry.

"Items aimed at improving profitability such as the introduction of bag fees and expiring flight credits risk eroding Southwest's competitive strengths relative to peers," Fitch warned at the time.

In addition to concerns about "eroding" these long-term competitive strengths for short-term financial gain, some experts warned that these short-term profits might not come, either.

Katy Nastro, travel expert at Going, warned that the "timing could not have been worse" for Southwest to make the change with tariffs producing an uncertain environment. Since then, the travel industry has been hit even harder with surging fuel prices.

Despite the many warnings, however, things seem to have gone quite well for Southwest.

Proved the Experts Wrong

Ending the iconic policy came with obvious risks for the airline, but a little over a year later, it's pretty clear that ending free bags was the right decision for Southwest, as the airline has seen a boost in profits without a massive dropoff in customer satisfaction.

Even amid a challenging environment for the travel industry, Southwest Airlines was able to return to profitability in the first quarter of 2026after reporting massive losses the previous year.

"Southwest Airlines Co. returned to profitability in Q1 2026, reporting net income of $227 million (diluted EPS $0.45) versus a net loss of $149 million a year earlier. Operating revenue rose 12.8% to $7.249 billion, a first‑quarter record, driven largely by new ancillary products such as bag fees and assigned and extra‑legroom seating," Stock Titan wrote after the airline's recent earnings numbers.

And those soaring profits did not seem to come at the detriment of the customer, either.

For the fifth straight year, Southwest Airlines was named the top airline in the economy and basic economy market by the J.D. Power 2026 North America Airline Satisfaction Study.

Additionally, The Points Guy rated Southwest Airlines as the third-best airline in the country in its annual Best U.S. Airlines study, behind only Delta and United. And it sounds like there's a chance that ranking could climb next year as Southwest is headed in the right direction.

"If Southwest bolsters its offerings with lounges (as rumored) don't be surprised if it makes a run at the top spot," said The Points Guy's Sean Cudahy.

Needless to say, it's pretty clear that Southwest proved the experts wrong and is thriving after the decision to end complimentary checked bags.

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 15, 2026, where it first appeared in the Travel section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published June 15, 2026 at 3:07 AM.