March 11 (UPI) — Southwest Airlines is ending a longtime perk and will now charge most flyers to check their luggage.
On Tuesday, the company announced it will begin charging passengers on May 28 for the first and second checked bag. However, A-List loyalty program holders and those in business fare will be exempt from the new fees.
But Southwest did not immediately say how much checked bags will cost consumers.
“We have tremendous opportunity to meet current and future customer needs, attract new customer segments we don’t compete for today, and return to the levels of profitability that both we and our shareholders expect,” Bob Jordan, CEO of Southwest, stated in a release.
In addition, the company also announced that in May it will start selling “basic economy” fares.
“All of these initiatives are new to Southwest, but they are not new to the industry,” Jordan said Tuesday on an investor conference call. He added that the changes “are exactly what our employees want us to do.”
The changes were among a number of new efforts made by the New York-based activist investor group Elliott Investment Management, which took a $1.9 billion ownership stake last year.
Meanwhile, last month Southwest cut about 15% of its corporate workforce, which represented 1,750 jobs, in what was its first mass layoff in company history.
