By Alison Sider

When Audrey Hooper and her far-flung family have things they need to bring to one another, they load up Big Pink.

The large, fluorescent-colored suitcase has crisscrossed the country for years and for free -- mostly on Southwest Airlines. When Hooper didn't feel like cooking for Thanksgiving after having a baby, her mother prepared and froze a full dinner in Oregon and checked it on her flight to visit Hooper's family in St. Louis. A 23-pound turkey, appetizers, stuffing, cranberry sauce and even some dinnerware traveled in the belly of a Southwest jet.

"Everything has always arrived in immaculate condition," Hooper said.

But the fun is over. Southwest, which long embraced bag checkers, plans to end its two-free-bag policy in May. It's reserving free checked items for customers with elite status and those who hold its co-branded credit card.

"It's the end of an era shipping things around so much," she said.

For Southwest, that may be the point. The airline is under pressure from investors to boost revenue. It has been missing out on the bag-fee bonanza that has generated billions of dollars for rivals. And handling all those checked bags is expensive, CEO Bob Jordan said last week.

"We carry nearly two times the bags as compared to the competition, which is costly on many fronts," Jordan said at an investor conference.

For many customers, the free checked bags were the main reason to pick Southwest over other airlines, most of which charge fees starting at $35 for one bag. There was immediate blowback when it announced the policy change, and not just from chronic overpackers.

Skiers, marching bands and parents moving kids into dorms have long made use of the generous allotment. Some fliers were even more creative.

Craig Wetter hauled two kitchen sinks from a wholesaler's outlet in Sarasota, Fla., where he lives, to apartments he was rehabbing near Chicago last month -- all with the help of Southwest. The supplier wouldn't deliver there, and the prospect of paying for shipping would have blown the money he saved on the sinks. They just barely fit into a large suitcase.

"Yep that's right, everything including the kitchen sink," Wetter said. "It sounds kind of crazy but it worked."

When Elizabeth Campbell's parents didn't have a Christmas tree in Florida, checking one for a holiday visit was a no-brainer. Her family had just bought a new tree, so the old one, still in its original box, was up for grabs. And the family of five could have checked as many as 10 bags without paying.

"It was definitely a 'why not?"' Campbell said.

You didn't have to test the limits of the policy to enjoy the perk. Customers over the years have marveled at the range of items that came sliding down the Southwest baggage carousel, from a giant sombrero to a set of antlers wrapped in bubble wrap to avoid pokes.

As he waited for his suitcase in New Orleans about eight years ago, Michael Bertaut saw what looked like a plexiglass ice chest headed toward him on the belt.

"As it got closer it appeared to be half full of ice and water, and when it rounded the corner in front of me I got the full frontal view of water, ice, and three BIG lobsters all suspended in the mix!" Bertaut said. "At first I kind of doubted my senses."

Southwest's social-media team has chronicled some of the more exotic items its passengers have checked, from the oversize to the comically small. Videos posted by the airline show a single bottle of hot sauce, a pair of crocs and a pool noodle, each affixed with their own bag tags, traveling on the belt to or from the belly of the plane or rounding the baggage claim.

A red, hard-shell suitcase with the words "I fly free on Southwest" emblazoned on its side could become a collectible. Southwest was selling the luggage online, but it was removed not long after the airline announced the end of its checked bag policy.

Jim Turnipseed and his fiancé basically moved into their vacation condo in Mexico two free bags at a time.

He strapped handles on a set of packed IKEA dining chairs, rolled a rug into a golf bag, and they brought down the Cuisinart, lamps, and even their seasoned cast iron pans. "It really became woven into our lives," he said of the routine.

Turnipseed's airline status will likely continue to afford him two free checked bags, but he said he feels differently about the airline now. "It kind of ruined the vibe," he said.

Travelers say Southwest employees seemed unfazed by unusual requests.

Ron Kullman quickly realized he needed snow tires when he started commuting weekly from Illinois to a new job in Reno, Nev., in 2018. He had rims, but shipping them would have cost him at least $400. The solution? He boxed them and checked them on two Southwest flights a week apart. Each came in at 46 pounds -- right under Southwest's 50 pound per bag limit.

"Nobody blinked an eye," he said. "It could have been a suitcase for all they care."

When Susan Casscells and her sister make applesauce, only Idared apples will do. Because they weren't available in North Carolina where her sister lives, Casscells once packed an old suitcase full of Idareds and checked it on Southwest.

There was only one problem. The apples didn't emerge on the baggage carousel.

"The only time Southwest has ever misplaced one of my bags," she said.

The apples turned up a day later.

Write to Alison Sider at alison.sider@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 19, 2025 05:30 ET (09:30 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.