Southwest Introduces Basic Fare With Numerous Restrictions

Southwest has introduced a lot of changes today, including something that it never had before: the equivalent of a basic economy fare.

Let’s look at what this new Southwest Basic fare gets you — and what it doesn’t.

Southwest’s New Basic Fare Explained

Southwest will introduce a new low-cost Basic fare starting May 28, 2025. 

This aligns the airline with mainline carriers that have had a “Basic Economy” fare for years. This comes with more restrictions, but it also does away with the egalitarian approach that had distinguished Southwest since its beginning in the 1970s.

Now the largest domestic airline by passengers carried, Southwest has been under pressure from activist investors demanding higher profits. Its response has been to introduce a raft of huge changes, including the end of its popular policy of letting all passengers bring 2 checked bags at no cost.

Southwest announced on its site that “this new Basic fare will be our lowest price point and will have less flexibility than other fares.” That’s it in a nutshell: pay less, accept significant restrictions.

Southwest clearly wants to attract price-sensitive travelers who would instead choose ultra-low-cost carriers like Spirit or Frontier. But longtime Southwest flyers aren’t used to the restrictions that come with those fares.

At the end of May, Southwest will have 4 different fares: Business Select, Anytime, Wanna Get Away Plus, and Basic. The current Wanna Get Away fares will be eliminated.

Here’s how the 4 new fare types on Southwest will differ:

A major negative change is an earlier end to flight credits for Basic fares. 

If you cancel a Southwest Airlines flight and receive a voucher to use on another flight in the future, that credit expires 1 year from when the ticket expires — except for Basic fares, which will see credits expire 6 months after the ticketing date. Previously, none of Southwest’s vouchers expired.

Basic fares are also nonrefundable and non-changeable, except as allowed by Southwest’s 24-hour cancellation policy. These tickets also don’t earn Transferable Flight Credits, which are issued as long as the flight is canceled at least 10 minutes prior to scheduled departure, and these can be transferred to another Rapid Rewards member. 

Other Basic restrictions, such as having to pay for Wi-Fi access, match other fare buckets.

Basic as the New Wanna Get Away Fare? Not Quite

With the introduction of Basic, Southwest is also eliminating its previous lowest fare bucket, which it called Wanna Get Away.

While this fare had extra restrictions compared to the more expensive fares, Wanna Get Away wasn’t really comparable to the new Basic fare.

Wanna Get Away allowed free same-day standby; Basic doesn’t. A passenger with a Wanna Get Away fare can — until May, when it is replaced by Basic — put their name on the list for same-day standby on an earlier flight, either by asking a Southwest customer service agent at the airport or by using the Southwest app or website.

Most importantly, Wanna Get Away had no change fees and allowed free access to Wi-Fi. So, it’s not really apples and oranges. Basic is not the same as Southwest’s current cheapest fares.

Final Thoughts

Southwest’s announcement ending free checked bags and introducing Basic fares is a major change. It’s not positive for most Southwest flyers, who will have to pay for what used to be free — unless they buy the airline’s most expensive fares.

Something that won’t change is the all-economy seating: Southwest will keep differentiating fares by perks included, not by seat type.