Southwest Airlines is significantly raising the fees for passengers who want to upgrade their boarding experience.
The airline is already known for its unique boarding process of not assigning seats to passengers. The earlier you board a Southwest flight typically determines what kind of a seat you'll end up in.
Passengers who want to get on and off the plane faster can purchase optional services, including EarlyBird Check-In and Upgraded Boarding -- both of which offer an earlier boarding position, a better opportunity to select your preferred seat and earlier access to overhead bin storage for your carry-on luggage.
Southwest recently and very quietly raised the fee range for both services, according to Travel + Leisure.
EarlyBird Check-In, which allows you to get checked in ahead of other passengers, now costs $15 to $99 each way per passenger -- up from the previous cost of $15 to $25.
Upgraded Boarding, which gives you the best available boarding position and the earliest access to seats, now costs $30 to $149 per segment -- up from $30 to $80.
A spokesperson for Southwest said the decision to increase prices wasn't fueled by anything in particular.
"This price range increase is a result of our regular evaluation of pricing for ancillary products based on market trends and customer demand and will generate incremental revenue in support of the company," the spokesperson said in a statement to USA TODAY.
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The spokesperson added, "Prices can vary based on flight length and demand. Price points within the new range are subject to change at any time, as they do today."
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