We 'luv' to see it: Southwest fares now displaying in Google Flights
Google Flights is one of the top tools for finding the best possible airfare. The Google Flights search engine aggregates nearly all available flights based on your specified date and location parameters. Once you find your perfect flight, you can click through to book directly with the airline. You can even compare cash and award pricing by using a browser extension.
As valuable as Google Flights is, there has always been one glaring drawback: the inability to see Southwest Airlines fares in the search results. Now, that has changed.
As of Wednesday, Southwest fare results are displaying in Google Flights searches alongside other major airlines. Historically, you could view Southwest flight times, numbers and other data in the search results, but you could only see the actual fare by clicking through to Southwest's website.
Now that you can view Southwest prices on Google Flights, you can compare pricing across multiple airlines to find the most affordable flight. This makes the search engine's date grid and price graph tools more accurate and helpful to travelers.
You can also utilize Google Flights' tracking capabilities to monitor Southwest flight prices. When you sign up, you'll receive an email alert anytime the price of a tracked Southwest flight changes. This can help you determine the best time to book. For previously booked flights, this will let you rebook your flight at a lower price and receive a flight credit or cash back, depending on your booking method and fare class.
This change also means you can view pricing and inclusions for all four of Southwest's fare classes within Google Flights. Overall, comparing and booking airfare on the Google Flights platform just got much easier.
Southwest regularly offers flight deals, which you could typically only access directly with the airline. Now, you can see the same discounted flight deals on Google Flights that Southwest offers on its own website.
Southwest shared the following statement with TPG regarding the changes:
"We're extending the reach of Southwest.com by giving users of Google Flights enhanced visibility into our available flights, fares, and the benefits of our products and services. In our initial piloting of this partnership, we've made it possible for Google Flights users to compare our different fare options and click directly into Southwest.com to book their selected itinerary.
"This offers the digital experience our existing customers and members of Rapid Rewards know well for account management and reservation servicing options available throughout a journey with Southwest Airlines.
"We're excited to continue finding ways to expose more consumers to the appeal of our unique combination of value, friendly and flexible policies, and a breadth of flight service that's built around the more than 800 nonstop routes Southwest will offer this peak summer travel season among 121 airports across 11 countries."
Despite the change, the budget-friendly airline remains absent from online travel agencies like Expedia and Travelocity as well as credit card travel portals like Capital One Travel and the American Express Travel portal. Late last year, the airline did give eligible Chase cardholders the ability to redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points for Southwest flights using the Chase travel portal.
These enhancements make booking Southwest flights easier than ever and only account for some of the changes the Dallas-based airline has committed to in recent years. In 2022, the company pledged $2 billion to "transform the customer experience." We've seen it do so by improving inflight Wi-Fi, adding power ports to some planes and more.
More recently, following the airline's December 2022 meltdown that caused the cancellation of nearly 17,000 flights, Southwest said it was budgeting $1.3 billion for upgrades, maintenance and other expenditures to get back on track.
Technology limitations have also prevented the airline from offering red-eye flights. The airline has now migrated to a new system. During the Skift Aviation Conference in November 2023, CEO Bob Jordan said that with the technological barrier lifted, the airline "will be doing red-eyes" at some point in the future.
Could additional changes be on the way for the Southwest flight experience? It's too soon to tell. Still, this is certainly a major win for Southwest loyalists and budget-conscious travelers. Now, you can find and compare flight prices without ever leaving the Google Flights platform.
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