Southwest Airlines will begin charging for checked bags at the end of May. Amid sinking profits, the budget airline announced in a press release Tuesday that it's ending its long-standing policy of allowing passengers to check two bags for free,

Southwest Airlines will begin charging customers a fee to check bags. It's a significant change for the budget carrier, which built years of advertising campaigns around its policy of letting passengers check up to two bags for free.

Southwest built its brand on being a customer-friendly alternative to its competitors, and changing its free checked bag policy risks it becoming just another airline.