Southwestplans toincreasefees

Airtran baggage costs also are affected. Two airlines to link connecting flights starting in January.

Southwest Airlines, which acquired AirTran Airways last year, said it plans to increase fees on AirTran and Southwest flights to boost revenue.

Dallas-based Southwest launched flights to Atlanta in February 2012 and operates about 29 a day from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. AirTran Airways operates about 172 flights a day from Hartsfield-Jackson. That’s down from about 220 flights operated by AirTran from Atlanta in 2010.

The company plans to increase AirTran’s fees to $25 for a first checked bag and $35 for a second checked bag effective Feb. 13, up from $20 and $25 currently. The higher fees are in line with what Atlantabased Delta Air Lines charges for domestic flights.

Fees for third checked bags, overweight or over-sized bags on Southwest and AirTran will go up from $50 to $75, and Southwest’s”EarlyBird” check-in fee goes up from $10 to $12.50.

“The industry and consumer behavior has changed substantially over the past 10 years,” said Southwest chief commercial officer Bob Jordan. “We cannot sit still as things change.”

Meanwhile, Southwest, which has no assigned seats and touts no change fees, plans next year to sell early boarding positions at the gate and add a fee for no-shows who want to take later flights and don’t cancel in advance.

The airline expects the moves to bring in an addition-

DAVID TULIS/AJC SPECIAL Southwest Airlines and AirTran signs are joined at the ticketing area at Hartsfield-Jackson.