Southwest in 2026 is a fundamentally different airline than the one you grew up flying. The two things that defined it for fifty years, two free checked bags and open “sit anywhere” seating, are both gone. Checked bags now cost $45 for the first and $55 for the second on most fares. Open seating ended January 27, 2026, replaced by assigned seats sold through four fare bundles. If your mental model of Southwest is still “the cheap one where bags fly free,” that model is now wrong, and flying on it will cost you money.
So let’s walk through what actually changed, when each change landed, and how to play the new system to your advantage, because there’s still value here, it’s just hidden in different places now.
What happened to free checked bags?
This was the big one, and it happened in two stages. Southwest ended its “Bags Fly Free” policy on May 28, 2025, making it the last major US airline to start charging, with fees of $35 for the first bag and $45 for the second. Then, less than a year later, on April 9, 2026, it raised them again by $10 each, citing a jet fuel spike tied to conflict near the Strait of Hormuz. The current numbers: $45 first bag, $55 second, $150 for a third. These are per bag, per direction, so a round trip with one checked bag is $90 before you’ve packed a thing.
Who still gets free bags? Rapid Rewards A-List Preferred members and anyone on the top Choice Extra fare get two free. A-List members and Southwest co-branded credit card holders get the first bag free (the card extends that to up to eight companions on the same reservation). Active-duty military keep their full benefits.
The strategy: carry-on is now your best friend. Southwest still includes one full-size carry-on and a personal item free on every fare, including the cheapest, with no overhead-bin restrictions by fare class, which beats the “basic economy” rules at American, Delta, and United. If you can travel carry-on only, you sidestep the whole fee. If you can’t, run the math on the card: the annual fee is often less than what two round trips of checked bags would cost.
What does assigned seating mean for boarding?
The 50-year open-seating era ended for all flights departing January 27, 2026. No more lining up by boarding number to claim a seat in a scramble, you now have an assigned seat, and seats come in three types: Standard, Preferred (front of cabin), and Extra Legroom (more pitch, near the front and exits).
Boarding was rebuilt too. The old A/B/C-with-a-number system is gone, replaced by eight boarding groups. EarlyBird Check-In and Upgraded Boarding ended after January 26, 2026; a paid Priority Boarding product replaced them, letting you buy into Group 1 between 24 hours and 60 minutes before departure.
How do the new fare bundles work?
Everything now funnels through four fare tiers, and which one you pick determines your bag allowance, when you can choose a seat, and how flexible your ticket is. From lowest to highest:
Basic (the old Wanna Get Away): cheapest, most restrictive. You get a Standard seat assigned at check-in, meaning you don’t choose it, the system does, so a family booking Basic can end up scattered. No free checked bag. Changes require upgrading to Choice; cancellations are allowed without a fee.
Choice: lets you select a Standard seat at booking, with free changes and same-day flexibility.
Choice Preferred: select a Preferred seat (front of cabin) at booking, plus the flexibility perks.
Choice Extra (the old Business Select): select an Extra Legroom seat at booking, two free checked bags, earlier boarding, premium snacks and drinks.
Which fare should you actually book?
Here’s the decision the new system forces on you:
If you’re traveling solo, carry-on only, and don’t care where you sit, book Basic and pocket the savings. The accepted-seat-at-check-in is fine when it’s just you.
If you’re flying with family or anyone you want to sit beside, do not book Basic, the assign-at-check-in roulette is how you end up in middle seats six rows apart. Pay up to at least Choice so you can pick seats together at booking. This is the single most important takeaway for anyone traveling with kids.
If you’re checking two bags, price Choice Extra against your fare plus $45 plus $55. On shorter routes, the upgrade frequently costs less than buying both bags separately, and you get the legroom and early boarding thrown in. Always check the fare screen before paying, it takes thirty seconds and routinely saves $50+.
If you fly Southwest more than a couple of times a year, the co-branded credit card likely earns its fee back on bag savings alone, before you count points.
Is Southwest still worth flying?
It depends what you valued. If you loved it purely for free bags and open seating, the specific things that made it special are gone, and it’s worth re-shopping every route against Delta, United, and the rest, the gap that justified the quirks has narrowed. But Southwest still has no change or cancellation fees on Choice fares and up, a genuinely generous carry-on allowance, and a route network that reaches cities others skip. The value didn’t vanish; it moved. The travelers who come out ahead now are the ones who pick the fare bundle deliberately instead of defaulting to the cheapest and getting surprised at the gate.
For carry-on-only flying under the new rules, a carry-on that maximizes the personal-item dimensions is the quiet money-saver, fit a weekend into the free personal item and the free carry-on, and you’ve dodged the entire $90 round-trip bag fee that used to be zero.
The honest bottom line
Southwest didn’t tweak its model, it replaced it. Free bags are gone, open seating is gone, and “cheapest fare” now comes with strings (assigned-at-check-in seats, no free bag) that can cost you more than the next tier up. None of that makes it a bad airline; it makes it a normal one, which is exactly the change. Fly it like a normal airline: travel carry-on when you can, never book Basic if you’re sitting with someone you love, and check whether Choice Extra or the credit card beats paying à la carte. Do that and you’ll still find value. Fly it on muscle memory from 2024 and you’ll pay for the nostalgia.
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