Southwest Airlines spent 50 years building its identity on two things: no assigned seats and free checked bags. In 2025 the airline surrendered one of them. The free bag policy that had made Southwest the default choice for millions of American travelers ended in May 2025, and the industry took notice. But Southwest is still a significant carrier, still operates without seat assignments, and still offers one of the most valuable loyalty program perks in US aviation. Whether it belongs in your booking consideration set depends heavily on the routes you fly, how you pack, and how you value flexibility over price certainty.

This guide covers everything you need to know about flying Southwest in 2026, from the new bag fee structure to the Rapid Rewards companion pass, from how open seating actually works to which routes Southwest genuinely undercuts the competition on.

The Bag Fee Change: What Southwest Gave Up in 2025

For half a century, Southwest's marketing ran on a simple line: "Bags fly free." The policy covered two checked bags per passenger at no charge, regardless of fare class. It was the clearest single differentiator Southwest had against every other US carrier, and it was genuine consumer value, not a marketing trick. On a family of four checking bags round trip, the saving over a Delta or United itinerary could easily reach $200 to $400.

In May 2025, Southwest ended the policy. The Wall Street Journal reported the change as part of a broader package of revenue-generating measures the airline adopted under pressure from activist investors who had spent years arguing Southwest's cost structure was out of step with post-pandemic market realities. The new fee structure introduced charges for checked baggage that brought Southwest broadly in line with the legacy carrier standard.

Under the current 2026 policy, the first checked bag costs $35 each way and the second checked bag costs $45 each way for most fare classes. Business Select and Anytime fare holders receive one free checked bag, and certain Southwest credit card holders retain a free first bag benefit depending on their card tier. This is a meaningful change but not a dramatic outlier relative to United, Delta, and American, which charge similar fees.

The practical impact is that the total cost of flying Southwest now requires the same kind of all-in calculation that any other airline does. A headline Southwest fare that appears $30 cheaper than Delta may be the same price once a checked bag is factored in. The era of defaulting to Southwest because the bag math always worked in its favor is over.

Fare Classes: Wanna Get Away, Wanna Get Away Plus, Anytime, and Business Select

Southwest operates four distinct fare classes, each with a different bundle of inclusions and flexibility. Understanding the differences is essential because the gap between Wanna Get Away and Business Select in terms of restrictions is significant.

Wanna Get Away is Southwest's lowest fare tier, equivalent to basic economy at other carriers in terms of price but notably more flexible in practice. You earn Rapid Rewards points on these fares, you can cancel and receive travel credit, and the main restriction is that Wanna Get Away credits expire after a set period and are not transferable. Boarding position is determined by check-in time, meaning you will be in a later boarding group unless you pay for Early Bird.

Wanna Get Away Plus is the mid-tier economy product introduced in recent years. It adds the ability to transfer flight credits to another person, one of the few fare classes at any US carrier that allows this. It also earns more Rapid Rewards points per dollar than Wanna Get Away and provides a slightly better boarding position in some circumstances. Worth the premium over base Wanna Get Away if you have any chance your plans could change and you want to transfer the credit rather than use it yourself.

Anytime is Southwest's fully flexible economy fare. It earns the most points of any non-Business Select fare, allows same-day changes without fees, and provides a refund to your original payment method rather than a travel credit if you cancel. First checked bag is included. For travelers who value genuine flexibility and will actually use it, Anytime is worth the premium over Wanna Get Away on routes where the price gap is not extreme.

Business Select is Southwest's top fare. It adds priority boarding (A1 through A15 boarding position), a premium drink coupon, the highest Rapid Rewards earning rate, and the first checked bag included. It also provides same-day standby priority. Business Select pricing can sometimes approach legacy carrier first class prices on popular routes, at which point you should cross-check whether Delta or United offers a more compelling product at a similar price.

The No-Change-Fee Policy: Still the Most Underrated Perk

Despite the bag fee change, Southwest maintains its no-change-fee policy, which remains one of the most genuinely useful features in US commercial aviation. Southwest does not charge a fee to change or cancel a flight at any point before departure, regardless of fare class. If you cancel a Wanna Get Away ticket, you receive a travel credit for the full ticket value. If you cancel an Anytime or Business Select ticket, you receive a refund to your original payment method.

The mechanics matter. The travel credit from a Wanna Get Away cancellation is held in your account as a Southwest travel fund and can be applied to future bookings in your name. Credits do not expire as long as you use them at least once every 12 months on an active ticket. If you book frequently with Southwest, these credits compound naturally into your next trip without friction.

The real value of this policy is behavioral. When you book a Southwest fare eight weeks out and find a lower price on the same route three weeks later, you can cancel the original booking, rebook at the lower price, and pocket the credit difference. Southwest actively encourages this. No other major US carrier makes that process as straightforward without charging a change fee on the difference.

For leisure travelers with even modest date flexibility, the no-change-fee model means the true cost of a Southwest booking is lower than the stated fare, because you retain optionality that other carriers price separately or remove entirely. That optionality value does not show up in a fare comparison but is real money for anyone who travels with any uncertainty in their schedule.

Route Network: Where Southwest Flies and Where It Dominates

Southwest operates an almost entirely domestic US network with a handful of near-international routes to Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America. The carrier does not serve Europe, Asia, or the Pacific, which makes it a purely domestic and regional play for most travelers.

Its hub footprint centers on Dallas Love Field, Chicago Midway, Baltimore/Washington, Denver, and Las Vegas. These are the airports where Southwest has the deepest schedule, the most frequencies, and the strongest competitive position. On routes between these hubs and secondary cities, Southwest often has more daily departures than any other carrier and prices aggressively to maintain load factors.

Southwest is particularly strong on Texas intrastate routes (Dallas to Houston, Dallas to San Antonio, Dallas to Austin), where it has competed since its founding days and maintains dense frequency. It is also strong across California, operating heavily between Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, San Diego, Sacramento, and Burbank.

Where Southwest is weaker: routes connecting cities it does not serve from major hub airports. If your origin or destination is not served by Southwest or requires a connection through a non-Southwest hub, the carrier becomes less competitive. Southwest also does not participate in interline agreements with other carriers, so a Southwest delay or cancellation that causes you to miss an onward connection on another airline is entirely your problem to resolve.

Rapid Rewards Program: Points, Redemption, and the Companion Pass

Rapid Rewards is Southwest's loyalty program, and it has one feature that no other US carrier matches: the Companion Pass. This single benefit is the reason many frequent flyers maintain a Southwest relationship even when the airline is not their primary carrier.

The Companion Pass allows you to designate one person to fly with you on every Southwest flight, on any fare, for free (you only pay taxes and fees, typically $5.60 each way). The companion can fly as many times as you fly for the entire calendar year in which you earn it, plus the following calendar year. There is no limit on trips. If you fly Southwest 30 times, your companion flies 30 times. The value on a busy travel year can easily exceed $2,000 to $5,000 depending on the routes and frequencies involved.

To earn the Companion Pass you need 135,000 qualifying points in a single calendar year. Points from flying, from Southwest co-branded credit cards, and from partner spending all count. The most common path to the Companion Pass is through sign-up bonuses on the Southwest Rapid Rewards credit cards issued by Chase, which periodically offer bonuses of 60,000 to 80,000 points that get you much of the way there. Many Companion Pass seekers open two Southwest cards in January to stack both sign-up bonuses, then earn the pass early in the year and hold it for nearly two full calendar years.

Rapid Rewards points are earned at a rate tied to fare paid, not miles flown. Wanna Get Away earns 6 points per dollar, Wanna Get Away Plus earns 8, Anytime earns 10, and Business Select earns 12. Points are redeemed directly against the cash price of any available Southwest flight, at a rate of roughly 1.5 cents per point at current pricing. There are no blackout dates and no award charts. If the flight is available for sale, it is available for redemption.

In-Flight Experience: Open Seating, Boarding, and What's Included

Southwest's open seating model means there are no assigned seats. You board in a group (A, B, or C) and within a position number, and you choose any available seat on the aircraft. The model has been the subject of debate for years, with critics arguing it creates boarding chaos and supporters countering that it is faster than seat-by-seat boarding at other carriers.

In practice, the experience is fine once you understand how it works. Boarding positions are assigned based on check-in time, and Southwest's check-in opens exactly 24 hours before departure. Set a phone alarm for 24 hours out, check in the moment it opens, and you will almost always get a B group position or better on most routes. Fail to check in within the first few minutes of the window and you risk a C group position, which means limited seat choice and a middle seat between strangers.

In-flight, Southwest includes non-alcoholic beverages, snacks, and free in-flight entertainment on its app (movies and TV shows). Wi-Fi is available on most aircraft for a fee, though Southwest has periodically offered periods of free Wi-Fi as a promotional benefit for credit card holders. Alcohol is available for purchase. There is no premium cabin, no first class, and no lie-flat seats. Every seat is the same seat.

Business Select and Early Bird Check-In: When the Upgrade Pays

If you want a better boarding position without the price of a Business Select ticket, Southwest sells Early Bird Check-In as a separate add-on for $15 to $25 per person per one-way flight (the price varies by route and demand). Early Bird automatically checks you in 36 hours before departure rather than 24, giving you a head start on the boarding position queue without requiring you to manually check in.

Whether Early Bird is worth it depends on what you value. If you care about sitting with a travel partner, getting an aisle or window seat, or simply avoiding the check-in alarm ritual, the $15 to $25 spend is often reasonable. If you are a solo traveler comfortable with a middle seat or you check in reliably at the 24-hour mark, it is usually not necessary.

Business Select is worth the premium on routes where you have meaningful carry-on baggage, fly frequently enough to want the points acceleration, or have a strong preference for window seats on popular routes where A1-A15 boarding guarantees your pick of the aircraft. For infrequent leisure travelers on shorter routes, it is usually hard to justify the price gap over Wanna Get Away.

Southwest vs the Competition: Where It Wins and Where It Doesn't

Southwest's competitive position in 2026 is more nuanced than it was before the bag fee change. The airline no longer wins on baggage cost by default. Where it still competes effectively:

Route frequency on its core domestic network. On high-frequency routes like Dallas to Los Angeles, Chicago to Denver, or Las Vegas to Phoenix, Southwest often operates more daily departures than any competitor. That frequency means flexibility if you miss a flight, more options when booking, and competitive pricing driven by Southwest's own internal schedule competition.

Cancellation flexibility. Southwest's no-change-fee policy remains meaningfully more generous than competitors. Delta's basic economy, United's basic economy, and American's basic economy are all significantly more restrictive on changes and cancellations.

Rapid Rewards simplicity. The points-equal-cash redemption model is easier to extract value from than the complex award charts and seat availability restrictions at legacy carriers. You know exactly what your points are worth, and you can use them on any available flight.

Where Southwest is weaker: international routes (Southwest does not go), premium cabin options (there are none), and long-haul transcontinental routes where the lack of seat assignment becomes a real inconvenience on a 5-hour flight in an increasingly crowded cabin.

Book Southwest Flights on Farefinda

Southwest does not distribute fares through Google Flights or most third-party aggregators, which means a Southwest price comparison requires a dedicated Southwest search alongside your aggregator search. When shopping for Southwest routes, use Farefinda to compare pricing on the same route from all other carriers, then check Southwest directly to see whether the combined bag and base fare math works in Southwest's favor. On routes where Southwest competes, it is often the best value. On routes where it does not, you need an independent data point to confirm that.

Set a fare alert on Farefinda for your route dates, and run a Southwest check simultaneously. The carrier sometimes drops fares significantly on off-peak inventory windows, and the no-change-fee policy means booking early when a price is right carries almost no downside risk.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Southwest still have free checked bags in 2026?

No. Southwest ended its free checked bag policy in May 2025. The first checked bag now costs $35 each way and the second costs $45 each way for most fares. Anytime and Business Select fare holders receive one free checked bag, and certain Southwest co-branded credit card holders retain a free first bag benefit depending on their card. This brought Southwest broadly in line with legacy carrier bag fee structures, ending its 50-year differentiation on this point.

How does the Companion Pass work?

The Companion Pass lets you designate one person to fly with you on every Southwest flight for free (taxes and fees only) for the remainder of the calendar year you earn it plus the following full calendar year. You earn it by accumulating 135,000 qualifying Rapid Rewards points in a single calendar year through flights, credit card spending, and partner activity. The companion can change up to three times per year if needed. On a busy travel year, the Companion Pass can be worth thousands of dollars in free flights.

No seat assignments: how does Southwest boarding actually work?

Check-in opens exactly 24 hours before your flight departure time. Check in at that moment and you will receive a boarding group (A, B, or C) and a position number within that group. Boarding begins with A1 and proceeds in order. Within each position you choose any open seat on the aircraft. The practical tip is simple: set a phone alarm for 24 hours before departure, check in immediately, and you will typically receive a B or better position. Upgrade to Early Bird Check-In for $15 to $25 per segment if you want automatic boarding priority without the alarm.

Is Southwest still worth it after the bag fee change?

It depends on how you fly. Southwest remains worth it for travelers who value cancellation flexibility, fly routes where Southwest has strong frequency, or are working toward a Companion Pass. It is less automatically worthwhile than it was before 2025, since the bag fee advantage is gone and the math now requires the same kind of all-in price comparison you would do with any other carrier. Southwest's no-change-fee policy and Rapid Rewards simplicity are still real advantages, but they benefit specific traveler types more than others.

Does Southwest fly internationally?

Southwest operates a limited number of routes to Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America from select US airports. It does not fly to Europe, Asia, the Pacific, South America, or Africa. Southwest is primarily a domestic US carrier, and for any intercontinental travel you will need a different airline.