Southwest to start charging for bags

[Disnsyncey]

If you live in a hub city (I do too) it's pretty hard to beat the dominant airline in all three of routing, time, and price.

yeah, sadly, ATL was a hub city for Southwest when they bought AirTran (for as much of a "hub" as a smaller company like southwest can have).....but then they almost halved the gates that they have here last year and everything went kablooey.....

gone are the days I could get to NYC or MCO for under $200....

 

[reddog21]

Card holder only. I called and asked.

800-I-FLY-SWA

Curious, is this the same as other airlines?

 

[titojackson84]

I only fly with a back pack which they told me last time I needed to put it under my seat so this change doesn’t seem to impact me for my August trip (yet). Maybe my flight in August will be less full if people take their business elsewhere.

After this trip though I may need to reevaluate my credit card situation. I have the priority card and the upgraded boardings have been great and the $75 credit but depending on what the benefits become, it may no longer be worth the cost. I only ever book flights using points and have gotten so many credited because of decreases. I may just need to use up what I have…

 

[focusondisney]

Yeah, but purses fit in backpacks...

Yea, as long as that backpack isn’t already stuffed full. Which we’ve all seen.

 

[focusondisney]

Curious, is this the same as other airlines?

Jetblue is the card holder & up to 3 people traveling on the same itinerary. For any flight you take, no matter how many a year. Will be interesting to see if SW is unlimited flights per year.

 

[mmouse50]

Most of Southwest flights to Disney are full flights - there is no way the plane will hold a carry on bag for everyone in the over the seat bins. If they have to check your bag once you board the plane do you have to pay for the baggage fee?

 

[mitsukoshi samurai]

first the elimination of luggage delivery, now this

 

[TinkAgainU]

I haven't seen a bag cost yet.

With everyone else at $30something, they could charge $15 or $20 and not rile everyone up so much.

 

[TinkAgainU]

Most of Southwest flights to Disney are full flights - there is no way the plane will hold a carry on bag for everyone in the over the seat bins. If they have to check your bag once you board the plane do you have to pay for the baggage fee?

If they take your bag due to insufficient overhead space, you'll not be charged. You just want to be sure to grab anything from the bag you need, lock it, and make sure it has a ribbon or something on it if you think finding your black bag will be challenging (that ribbon or tag may ALSO keep people from accidentally leaving with Your bag).

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I just told my sister that we're gonna have to drive from now on because there's no longer an airline that I even remotely like and that if we do fly its carry on only especially since you can then skip baggage claim.

As much as flying can be a stressful hassle it's impossible for us to travel without flying. To get to Orlando is 18+ hours (that's if you don't hit Atlanta traffic and we all know that is going to happen) OR a 2 hour 45 min flight. We wouldn't be able to actually do much travel at all certainly not international if we just drove to places. That said sometimes we do something to eliminate an EXTRA flight such as in under 2 weeks driving 8 hours instead of flying that because we have after that an international flight. Going to visit in-laws 3 1/2 hours away is driving because a flight costs more and takes longer overall due to having to get to the airport for the flight (the flight is like 55 mins).

And I only ever take a personal item so its not me causing overhead space to be filled but now it will be lol.

It's been a toss up for us but in the last 10 years it's been less checked luggage but most of that is because of the destination or the number of days.

WDW/USO trips checked luggage, Cancun checked luggage, Vegas no checked luggage, Puerto Rico no checked luggage, Jamaica pretty sure we did checked luggage, cruises checked luggage (both European), 2+ weeks traveling around Europe personal item and carry on, 2+ weeks in Japan personal item and carry on, upcoming UK trip 2+ weeks personal item and carry on.

For international even though they are long trips it's mostly because of 1) mobility including train stations and in Europe cobblestones 2) not wanting to wait around for checked luggage. In these cases we've done well with doing laundry at the hotels. The hardest part has been dealing with incredible size and weight restrictions but it's been doable for the long travel by train/hotel stay combo trips.

For the cruises I would like to not have checked luggage but it's the reverse of the other international destinations that the size and weight restrictions for international flights for personal and carry on items make it very difficult to pack the amount of clothes needed to accommodate the cruise environment and destinations.

I honestly don't remember really checking 2 pieces often at all however I think families with children or teens is the bulk of those who did.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I believe some of it may have to do with the Boeing production issues (not getting as many planes/getting them when they were expecting to). A lot of airlines have had to shift routes to accommodate not getting the planes they expected. I'm sure that's not the only reason for SW to do this, but it's probably at least one of the factors.

British Airways had a large disruption over in England (affected mostly U.S flights but later also other routes like Abu-Dhabi) due to Rolls Royce engines. Unfortunately plane parts or plane orders or plane safety concerns have collided with other factors like the pandemic and subsequent travel resurgence.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Be aware effective March 25 stricter baggage measurements are being enforced . SW has a picture diagram that includes the handle height and the roller wheels as part of the measurement !
Not sure if you will be stopped at security or at the boarding gate for the measurement inspection.

Wheels and handles and anything that sticks out (like front pockets for one) should always be counted towards overall measurements. This wasn't as much of an issue when 2 wheeled luggage was predominate as the wheels often are recessed or overall smaller. With 4 wheels being very common people forget they take up a lot of dimensions.

You shouldn't be stopped at security as a norm as TSA isn't really involved in that process. If you're needing to go to a desk (say to print off a boarding pass) that might be an opportunity for measurement mostly for checked. If you're at the gate you might see a measuring box.

One thing I kinda liked was when we flew ZipAir last fall they have a measuring box that has an internal scale so not only can you ensure your bag was within size but also within the weight (we always bring a handheld luggage scale with us for many people don't).

 

[TinkAgainU]

MCO was one of the few airports where I check a bag - bringing a few food/cooking items for a DVC stay, and to have room for souvenirs (which tend to be gifts for the kids). Plus, WDW seems to require more rain gear to be safe (extra shoes etc). I'll be looking for smaller/fewer souvenirs and using food delivery more, I bet. I can live with both of those rather than an (estimated) addition of $70 roundtrip per bag. I hate the stress of wondering if that bag is going to be on the bag carousel anyway - and increasing the bags-checked load for SWA does not seem like a sure thing to make that less stressful. There is a reason we're all already using Airtags and Tiles to watch for our bags ...

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

There is a reason we're all already using Airtags and Tiles to watch for our bags ...

Yeah we just swapped out our Tile batteries for new ones in anticipation for our upcoming trip (the tile app warning for low battery). We have 3 each: 1 for Personal item (overkill but important when traveling to places where you're dropping off your bags at the hotel or putting them in a locker) 1 for carry on and 1 for checked bag.

It came in big handy in Cancun in 2023 when halfway through the unloading process SWA flights basically halted getting luggage out on the carousel and come to find out that is common enough because other airlines have more priority there we saw multiple flights have their luggage come and go all out. It took 1 1/2 hours for the remaining half of the plane's luggage to come out on the carousel, unfortunately that included all of our luggage. Part of the reason people become concerned about checked luggage. Tiles don't have nearly the same range as airtags but we could see when it was being loaded onto the carousel as it was close enough in range.

 

[sam_gordon]

Curious, is this the same as other airlines?

Delta gives you one checked bag for everyone in your party (on the same reservation) for holding their card. Of course, they just upped their annual fee to $150. But, at $35/bag, checking three bags for a RT flight would be $210. Two bags would be $140.

 

[zemmer]

Frontier gives 2 free checked bags to the credit card holder only.

 

[sponica]

Curious, is this the same as other airlines?

I know when we flew American we never paid for luggage between my husband's status and credit card perks.

 

[CamColt]

There was already a thread here on the Transportation board. Are you able to merge it so we have all the conversation in one place?

Unfortunately, I cannot as this is not my board. I will report the post so a Mod here can combine them. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[EACarlson]

Curious, is this the same as other airlines?

No, this would be novel.
Delta is you and up to 8 more on the same PNR.
American is cardholder plus 4 on the same PNR
United is cardholder plus 1 on the same PNR, the same credit card company that issues the United cards also issues the Southwest cards.
Interestingly enough SW companion pass is not on the same PNR with the passholder so even if SW did go 1+1, it wouldn't apply to companions.

 

[Tink3815]

Something noticed flying to MCO the past 6 months I always seemed to get one of the newer planes (I think it is the 737-800). I have sat in all 3 positions. I always bring the same tote bag packed the same way for my personal item. In the middle and window seat, I have room to put it under the seat and comfortably have my feet around it. On the aisle seat, I can barely stuff the bag under the seat. The areas not being the same size seems like a bad design to me.

I can remember a few years back Southwest gate agents were trolling through the gate area a few minutes before boarding and looking at people’s luggage. They would offer gate checks, especially if they seemed large or overstuffed.

While shopping for luggage, I researched all the domestic carry-on sizes. Southwest and Frontier have. 24-16-10. All other domestic are 22-14-9. It does not seem like a big difference, but when you look side by side, it is.