Illinois Flyers: 1 Airline’s Bags Fly Free Policy Ends This Week

You're probably a grown-up, so you know that when you see a quoted price for an airline flight to somewhere you might want to visit, there are going to be more charges added to that base price you saw in an advertisement.

Seriously, those charges really pile up when you take a minute to look at them. Air travelers across the nation get hit with a variety of them, including (but not limited to):

• Baggage fees
• Flight cancellation/Cancellation fees
• Federal taxes
• Security fees
• Passenger Facility Charges (PFCs)
• Airport Improvement fees
• Parking Charges
• Fuel Service fees
• Landing fees

There's one particular fee on the list above that is about to go the way of the dinosaurs this week (Wednesday, May 28th, to be exact), and many airline customers who haven't been paying attention to things like this are about to get a rude awakening when they're hit with the news at their favorite airport.

Wednesday, May 28th Marks The End Of One Era And The Start Of A New One When It Comes To Checked Bags On A Flight

In an industry where every domestic airline tacked on baggage fees, Southwest Airlines stood out like a beacon to those who were hoping to save themselves some money when it came to paying extra for checked bags because Southwest's longtime slogan was "Bags Fly Free."

You'll notice I used the word "was."

It Looks Like You Can Kiss A Beloved Travel "Perk" Goodbye

Southwest announced back in March that they were going to have to make some changes, and they pointed out that the whole "bags fly free" thing was just not working for them financially anymore and that they'd be changing things up.

Now, Southwest Airlines says that it will be charging $35 for a first checked bag and $45 for a second checked bag. Weight and size limits will apply for bags.

WGNTV.com:

Southwest will continue to offer two free checked bags to Rapid Rewards A-List preferred members and customers traveling on Business Select fares, and one free checked bag to A-List members and other select customers. Passengers with Rapid Rewards credit cards will receive a credit for one checked bag.

Oh, you're not a member of one of those programs? You'll be paying for those bags of yours.

Southwest is also doing away with their long-time open boarding policy, too. You've got a few more months of open boarding, but Southwest says that they'll be using assigned seating by next year.