Southwest has announced yet another change to its service: the formerly bags-fly-free airline will start charging for checked luggage starting May 28, 2025. It's a shift that changes the Southwest customer experience just as radically as its announcement in July 2024 that airline would no longer use an open-call seating system and instead move to a more traditional seat-assignment mode — with that seating model's associated cost increase passed on to the consumer.

As of this date, Southwest Airlines will no longer allow free checked bags for most passengers. Here's when you'll have to pay to check on Southwest.