Southwest Airlines answered customers’ questions in a video posted Thursday after announcing last week that it will start charging customers a fee to check bags, ending its decades-long free baggage policy.
Tony Roach, an executive vice president with Southwest, said in a video posted to YouTube that flights booked before May 28, the date the new policy will be in effect, will not be impacted by new bag pricing — even if the flight takes off after May 28.
Roach did not share details about what the airline will charge for the first and second checked bags, but said the company planned to “share more details as we get closer to May 28.”
Rapid Rewards A-List preferred members will still receive two free checked bags, while Rapid Rewards A-List members and Rapid Rewards credit card members will get one checked bag. Benefits extend to up to eight additional passengers on the same reservation, Roach said.
Companion Pass holders who qualify for one of two free checked bags will have their benefit apply to their Companion, but the Companion will need to pay the checked bag fee at the airport and then be refunded, according to the airline.
The company also announced that it will begin to vary redemption rates across flights, factoring in how much demand exists for a flight. Under this system, more in demand flights may have a higher redemption rate than lower demand flights, Roach said.
These changes are part of several major shake-ups at the airline over the last year. In July, the airline announced it would begin assigning seats on its flights this year, and eliminated 1,750 jobs in February in the company’s first major layoff.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Contact Taylor Lane at tlane@reviewjournal.com.