Southwest Airlines has a popular EarlyBird Check-In feature that allows passengers to be placed in an earlier boarding group. And now it’s raising the fee on that feature by 20 percent. Southwest Airlines is now charging $15 for EarlyBird Check-In per one-way trip. The fee was previously $12.50, and when the program started, it was $10. “Every few years, we review the price of our services in order to align with market and operational conditions as well as uphold the quality of our offerings,” Southwest said in a statement. One of Southwest’s signatures is its open seating policy. Passengers are placed into boarding groups depending on when they checked in for the flight; the earlier boarders have their pick of seating, while later boarding passengers often find themselves with only middle seat options. EarlyBird Check-In is one way to guarantee you have a better seating selection by allowing you to check in up to 24 hours ahead of the departure. Southwest is still the only major U.S. carrier to allow two checked bags for free, which is likely what will keep it among the highest-rated airlines.