Southwest Airlines is the only scheduled US carrier that does not make its flights available via online travel agencies (OTAs) such as Expedia or Orbitz. They save money on fees, don’t have to compete side-by-side with all of the other carriers, but there is another cost too.
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Southwest Won’t List on OTAs
Southwest only sells tickets through their website. At first, the carrier had two practical reasons for not listing with Online Travel Agencies like Expedia, Orbitz, Priceline, etc. while the rest of the industry moved towards the OTAs.
The first reason that Southwest avoided OTAs is that airlines previously paid commission or bounty for sold airfare to the services. Those costs have come down dramatically for carriers (less than $10 per sold booking now) but initially, the costs were higher. Further, even at $3-5/ticket sold, that’s a cost of doing business that Southwest didn’t want to pass on to their customers at a time when they were still a discount carrier.
The second reason was that their IT wasn’t really capable. For many years, all Southwest tickets had to be booked individually (each way) – they didn’t sell connections. Other limitations included the inability to book international destinations nor red-eye flights. Some of these restrictions remain in place today while others are a relic of the past.
Their Strategy Worked
Interestingly, Southwest’s strategy worked but perhaps not in the intended fashion. Instead of the initial reasons for avoiding fees and IT limitations, an unintended outcome is that customers had to come to Southwest.com to find their fares. When the carrier was an underdog serving few cities, not being on the OTAs was a detriment, but now it’s a strength.
Customers have been conditioned to first shop Southwest that some never comparison shop anywhere else. Southwest doesn’t have to compete as other carriers do on OTAs because their customers are not seeing the other prices alongside theirs. When Southwest’s fares began to creep up, their customers didn’t notice the change. Southwest, while still a great deal on some routes and sales, is within $5 of the other carriers 5% of the time and more expensive than the rest 60% of the time.
But It Costs Southwest Business Too
Southwest has changed their model over the years from being no frills to value carrier. Instead of flying to smaller airports passengers hadn’t heard of, they fly into the major airports now. While Houston Hobby, Dallas Love, and Chicago Midway remain mainstays of the Southwest model, they now fly into Boston Logan instead of only Manchester, NH, and New York LaGuardia instead of Long Island Islip.
However, until recently I hadn’t even thought to shop them for my business flights. They are more or less my holiday airline, and while business travelers have been using Southwest for years, I haven’t for a couple of reasons.
I don’t think about Southwest even when fares on other carriers are obscenely high. Perhaps I should be. When I run a search I am focused on cost, duration and flight times. I can see a beautiful array of options from United, American and Delta but Southwest doesn’t show up so it’s out of sight out of mind.
Will It Ever Change?
Southwest has adjusted so much of their business model to evolve with where the carrier finds themselves today. No longer the runt of the litter, Southwest is and has been the largest domestic carrier in the US for some time. They fly to Caribbean destinations as far south as Aruba and now out to the Hawaiian islands.
They fly into major cities and heavy airports, a category shift from their prior strategy of cheaper, smaller airports close to major metros. They sell connecting traffic, they are targeting business customers (heavily), and best of all for Southwest, costs of selling on OTAs are significantly lower than they once were.
However, they remain off the OTAs as a form of price protection and to control the booking process but as fewer cities are available for expansion, movement onto the OTAs may be the only way to capture those that shop there first. For example, I only shop Google.com/flights and rarely make it far enough down the list to see that anything is offered by Southwest, much less click to their website to see their price which is usually higher.
Conclusion
While I wouldn’t be surprised either that Southwest stayed their course or added OTA listings to their sales stream I do think they are losing revenue unnecessarily. The couple of dollars of savings are no longer felt by their customers, they compete on a much larger stage now, and while they would control less of the process, they might find new customers willing to try them out.
What do you think? Will Southwest ever go on the OTAs? Should they? Do you check Southwest.com if you usually fly another carrier anyway?
The public would gain convenience of booking, but the 2 free bags would go out the window if they were on the OTA’s.
I am not sure that is necessarily true.
We fly Southwest exclusively for domestic vacations. Seldom check the OTA’s unless Alaska or Hawaii.
Fly 4-6 RT’s per year and the $120 per trip on bags (4) per trip is significant.
The drink tickets 4-8 per year are also a nice perk over the $8-10$ per drink on most OTA lines.
The no change fees are also a great perk and checking there site for price drops have saved us hundreds.
Only drawback is no pre seat assignments, but have used the early boarding option for better seat availability. Also check in at 24 hour for better seat availabilty.
The “only” drawback is not the lack of a seat assignment. It’s also lack of serving airports that other carriers cover, flying into desired airports rather than alternatives (like Miami instead of Fort Lauderdale 40-70 minutes away depending on traffic), a lack of coverage throughout the Caribbean and of course internationally. You also can’t fly Southwest to Alaska, or Canada which seems a little silly to me.
We had loved SWA. Perhaps they will use the referenced $$ to reimburse stolen luggage owners. I would be thrilled if they had bothered to check videos of baggage handlers and suitcase pick up, which they have but deny. They lost all my Denver gear, clothes, electronics, etc Feb 2, 2019 in GEI to DEN. They keep rejecting claims and insist on original receipts despite the photos of inside suitcase, tags, content list, etc. Does everyone have every receipt on what they pack?
Southwest is probably the best business airline. Here in California, the options and schedule between SoCal and Norcal airports is so convenient (well they need to add PSP). But no change fees is just amazing since we all know business meetings don’t change or get cancelled. They are my carrier for anything regional (DEN and westward). They have also come through in a pinch when other carriers have dropped me when out east too. So yes….they are no longer the cheapest per se. But value is higher than everyone else(when on Y fares of course). I’ve been alist preferred and CP holder for years. They are nice and cheery and customer friendly. But just pack a lunch tho.
…and don’t leave the US unless you’re going to the Caribbean. Alaska is also an amazing west coast carrier (though the east coast is sparse) but has partners that will take you to any corner of the globe, their points are worth more, they offer meals, lounges and are competitive.
Well, first I have to question one point you make. I’ve flown Southwest for decades and have always been offered and booked connecting flights.
Southwest has been and remains my go to airline. There are several reasons for this.
1. They are usually process competitive and the schedules work well for me. I do my own process comparison on sites like Hipmunk and Travelocity and still find them competitive enough considering other factors.
2. Southwest consistently has the best customer service. I travel for business and have to change plans often. The lack of change fees (only change in the cost of the flight) is a real advantage. I’ve even occasionally gotten refunds after a flight change.
3. Their rewards program is great.
4. I fly from BWI for the last 10 years and Southwest pretty much open that airport.
Thanks for the detailed comment. Some responses back are due:
1) If the other factors include free checked bags, that rarely applies to business travelers and many have credit cards or even the lowest level of status makes that benefit negligible. In terms of competitiveness, on a dollar spent ratio, I doubt you find them to be more competitive.
2) They do have great customer service and their cancellation policy is excellent. If it’s in the same 24 hours, I also have the same free change but don’t have to pay a difference in the fare, so depending on how far away you are changing those flights will determine if their change policy is worse than United/Delta/American’s 24 same day change policy as Southwest would require a difference in the fare price paid.
3) Eek. It’s ok, but definitely not great. If you have companion pass, sure, but their limitations are substantial. Want to go anywhere outside of the Caribbean, coastal Mexico or the US? Sorry, Charlie. The value of their points is mediocre at best. Yes, you can absolutely get any open seat they have… but you can do that on the other carriers too – you just pay more as you would with Southwest. There are no partners to help cover the thousands of destinations they do not and hundreds of other countries, their limited schedule to foreign destinations also make it tough to say it is even a “good” program. Don’t get me wrong, my wife has companion pass and I will next year, but I wouldn’t call their entire program great for that one benefit and certainly not for less.
SWA is definitely losing revenue. I almost always go to Google Flights first and sometimes even forget that SWA exists. Moreover, from a customer service perspective, when I do remember SWA exists, I’m irritated that it doesn’t appear in Google Flights. Not only does SWA not provide fares to OTAs, but on their Web site, you can’t even search by city — instead, you must go through the hassle of searching Dulles *and* BWI or Midway *and* ORD!
(Of course, since SWA is now rarely the cheapest option, it’s not like I’m impoverished for not seeing their fares.)
You know their flights are pretty much sold out right?
I don’t know where you’re flying but Southwest is almost always the least expensive option by far flying outside the Eastern seaboard, especially for last minute flights. Delta, United, and American are outrageous in the week before a flight. Earn your Southwest A-List status and you don’t even have to worry about getting a bad seat.
Outside the Eastern seaboard? That’s a fair chunk of the market. I get a lot of folks that comment saying, “Southwest is the cheapest, just look at these prices from LAX-OAK” but that doesn’t apply everywhere. American and Delta would have very few flights between the Bay Area and LA by comparison while Alaska would be pretty close. One of the cheapest markets for Pittsburgh (my home base) on Southwest is Chicago Midway, just an 80-minute flight. But Southwest prices at $220 RT which is about the same as United and American on the same route. With some notice, the Tampa direct is also reasonably priced, ($70 is their constant one-way sale fare) but that’s in line with the others. Closer in, Southwest fares become unbearably high, comparing $700 RT ($350 each way) to United with a connection ($225 each way) and of course Spirit which comes in closer to $150 each way close-in.
While my above experiences are anecdotal, as is yours Chris, the linked site provides a study that shows they are empirically more expensive 2/3rds of the time.
After moving up the tier ladder at Frontier years ago and watching the flights and “service”, I use that term loosely, I dumped my 200,000 miles on free trips and went to Southwest and never looked back. By paying the OTAs as hotels, especially Las Vegas hotels do resort fees came into being. I choose only Southwest now because of service, convenient schedule and never price because I’m not looking for cheap, I’m looking for consistency. I get that every time. Flying domestically will never be nice anymore but South makes it tolerable.
SWA is not the low cost carrier it used to be. Whether they open up their fares to other OTA’s is inconsequential. They see it as a brand that is highly guarded against dilution… hence loyalty. We always shop their site and others. Most of the time they are nowhere near the cheapest… even out of BWI (our airport of choice) where they pretty much OWN the travel there, having no competition per se. But there are other airlines making inroads such as Frontier and Spirit (at BWI) that ARE MUCH LESS EXPENSIVE even though I personally hate their business models with all of the add-on fees.
SWA used to have a cult-like following but I find that to be waning and in my view is a good thing. They have turned into another legacy airline that does not set them apart from the others.
Southwest actually does publish fares on business/corporate booking portals. I worked for a consulting firm which showed their fares along with other airlines.
How interesting! Someone reported seeing WN flights on a rewards portal so that must be a similar system.
I have seen them on Concur, but only massive companies typically employ them.
I travel every week, sometimes 5-6 flights, for almost 10 years. My coworkers at 2 companies have mocked a derided me because I can’t get upgraded nor can I camp out at “the club” when there are delays. But for me, I could care less. I’m perfectly fine camped out on the airport floor with my fellow travelers, sharing my per diem so their kids can have a snack, having fabulous conversations about families, vacations, and truly anything BUT business.
On many occasions, I have gone home when an assignment ended early–waving buh-bye to my coworkers who had to stay because of change fees on Delta or American.
I earn companion status by April or May each year (without using a co-branded card). I can book award tickets for friends and family as easily as I book my own. I have, with rare exception, my aisle seat no further back than row 4. I know the configuration of plane I will have on every flight, saving me the dreaded gate check if my carry-on of normal size is too big for the glove compartment sized overheads I’ve run into on American and Delta. I have more free drink coupons than I can use. And the service? Oh, c’mon! Light years ahead of the rest.
If I wished to complain, I would bemoan the lack of any sort of lifetime status, but I’m not sure what they could possibly give me. Automatic Business Select boarding and points on flights where A1-15 is still available? Meh. Maybe. Preboarding? Pffft. I already get the seat I want and have plenty of time to settle in before takeoff.
Y’all business travelers can keep the nasty staff attitudes, the miniscule seating, the “I have to pay extra for that?” moments. I’ll stick with the airline that helps me to love my job.
In fairness, we are two different kinds of travelers. I enjoy the lounge and wouldn’t be caught dead eating snacks on an airport floor. Call me an elitist if you want, I’d prefer to call myself a hygenist but this is just semantics.
In regards to the change fees that make it possible for you to leave early and your co-workers to longingly look on, either you or your co-workers misunderstand the available options. Southwest only charges the difference in fare to make a flight change, but if you bought one of these great deals the rest of the commenters are talking about, let’s say $300 round trip, the return segment (originally $150 of the fare) on short notice would be remarkably more expensive at walk-up rates (because in your example you’re both at the airport and you jumped on an earlier flight). You may not pay a “fee” but you would pay the difference regardless of status and that would be at least $200 more than your original fare. United offers passengers to switch to an earlier flight within 24 hours for $75 and I believe American does as well. So presumably, if you and your co-workers all found availability on your carriers for an earlier flight, those with status may pay nothing, those without may pay $75, and you would pay Southwest the difference in fare the day-of-travel which is very unlikely to be under $75. Lack of change fees are great on advance fares with advance changes, they are relatively useless and indeed Southwest’s policy is worse than the airlines you loathe with advance purchase and short notice, like meetings ending early as you suggested.
Elites flying 110,000 miles halfway through the year would also have drink coupons and a seat in the first four rows of the plane, though theirs would likely be in a wider seat potentially with full meal service as they would have nearly guaranteed upgrades to first class. Even if they sit in the back, they can count on complimentary drinks (they’d get those drink chits as well or don’t need them depending on the carrier) and a snackbox (not just peanuts or pretzels like on Southwest).
Some regional jets have smaller overhead bins, this is true, but flying smaller jets also means you have access to the many smaller cities that don’t command the attention of Southwest’s 150-seat 737s, it also means more frequency. For example, those little jets give me four daily flights to Houston from Pittsburgh daily on United as opposed to just one from Southwest. Those four work with my schedule and connecting flights better than a single scheduled flight. I occasionally have to gate-check my carry-on (3 times in the last 12 months or approximately 150,000 miles) but it’s rare any more with the switch to E-175s for most destinations.
Where we agree is that the customer service is better at Southwest, though still slipping from where they once were. I’d also agree that they should have some sort of lifetime status, even if that merely means preferred boarding as you suggest. Frankly, I also think that Southwest should offer accelerated earning for their elites or preferred redemption rates.
You’re happy to leave us business travelers to the nasty attitudes, but don’t you ever want to go anywhere besides the places Southwest flies? What do you do then?
So, your post doesn’t really consider the value for a small business or sole proprietorships without a large travel budget (small businesses employ more people than anyone else in America). The value to be able to change a flight or cancel a flight and not lose the money is huge for a person who has to pay for their own travel (where major airlines change fees are basically the price of a domestic ticket). I know this from my own longtime experience. Secondly, the study you cite is from 4 years ago and is not the end-all-be-all in terms of context for a business traveler today. At any rate, I am skeptical of the general applicability of the study’s findings for all contexts, because usually, for last-minute flights (in my base in a midsize Texas city), Southwest is ALWAYS the cheapest. And if I book way in advance, it is typically the cheapest (and I have hundreds of anecdotal experiences for many other cities I visit regularly as well). Thus, at the tails of the purchasing calendar curve (the beginning and end of purchase times for fares – i.e. months in advance or less than the week before flight), Southwest seems to almost always be best (only Alaska is better if you have MVP Gold status, but Alaska unfortunately, is regionally based). So, between two weeks out to three months out, I could see where the 60 percent statistic might be applicable where the other airlines are technically cheaper if you don’t include hidden fees (I am assuming the study was done during this kinda timeframe). But what about other costs for business travelers? What about the decent amount of leg room in Southwest (have you flown United economy recently and tried to pull down a tray table? I’m 5ft9in and 165lbs -i.e. normal size- and I can’t actually type on my tiny computer). Time is money in the business world, and being unable to pull down your tray table and work on United. I usually assume I’ll get no work down when I ride them ….And you get drink tickets on Southwest too periodically. And WN offers more direct flights from my Texas city to other cities than United and American combined. Half the people on the planes between my Dallas and Houston and Austin flights are business men – and sprinkle in the occasional legislator (Time is money, and WN route system is much better). Sure, Southwest is not the cheapest all the time in technical airfare price, but your point discounts hidden fees in terms of flexibility and other priorities for small business. Your point is kinda misrepresentative and can’t see the forest because of the trees. Look, to each his own, but I think your article directs arguments towards what you think is important – lounge and free upgrade?? I like that too. Are Southwest WN people a bit too loyal? Ya, probably. I would agree. I’m an Alaska Air fan myself. But your post is a bit misleading.
Mark, respectfully, you make my argument. Many of the things you love about Southwest are included with other carriers too but it’s been a while since you flew with them that those benefits are forgotten. But I am getting ahead of myself, let me respond in order and by the way thanks for reading and for commenting.
I run a division and we are, in essence, a small business. I have owned several and I categorically disagree with your assessment of the costs associated with business travel in comparison with Southwest.
As I mentioned in another comment, the change fees are substantially different than you may understand them to be:
In regards to the change fees… Southwest only charges the difference in fare to make a flight change, but if you bought one of these great deals the rest of the commenters are talking about, let’s say $300 round trip, the return segment (originally $150 of the fare) on short notice would be remarkably more expensive at walk-up rates… You may not pay a “fee” but you would pay the difference regardless of status and that would be at least $200 more than your original fare. United offers passengers to switch to an earlier flight within 24 hours for $75 and I believe American does as well. So presumably, if you [and your co-workers all found availability on your carriers for an earlier flight,] those with status may pay nothing, those without may pay $75, and you would pay Southwest the difference in fare the day-of-travel which is very unlikely to be under $75. Lack of change fees are great on advance fares with advance changes, they are relatively useless and indeed Southwest’s policy is worse than the [other] airlines.
In regards to the data, I have found it to have gotten worse for myself and the hundreds of other times I have helped people book in the last six months. You have found the opposite to be true, yet the study is too old to be relevant. I would gladly welcome another study that suggests Southwest has made flights even cheaper since the study but I think we will both be waiting a very long time for that data.
You also mention “hidden fees” with the other carriers. If that refers to checked bags, you’ve got me there, except they aren’t hidden and business travelers rarely check bags in my experience (though I did last week). But even the lowest of elites or credit card holders will get those fees waived, so business travelers really aren’t paying them whether they fly Southwest or anywhere else. If you’re referring to Basic Economy fares, sure, the only thing you’d get with Southwest that you wouldn’t on a BE fare would be the miles. Southwest offers the same drinks and snacks to the back of the plane as the rest of the industry or less depending on the route, but Southwest won’t let you buy snackboxes so at least the other carriers have a leg up in that regard. But you’re not choosing your seat in advance in either case.
If you were flying United as regularly as you fly Southwest you would have access to Economy Plus seats which offer 36″ of seat pitch (and of course a full tray table) which beats Southwest’s 31-33″ of pitch. The drink tickets you would get with various status levels just as you would with Southwest, no difference, except that as a top tier elite on at least American or United (I am not sure about Delta) you wouldn’t need them because booze for top tier elites is free in the back if their free unlimited upgrade didn’t clear.
I don’t think I mentioned the lounge because even top tier elites at the major 3 US carriers get that with their status. Free upgrades are absolutely important and this year on United as a 1k, I have cleared more than 2/3rds of the time which adds a host of benefits that blow Southwest out of the water. Seat pitch in the pointy end of the plane is 38″ at least, seats are either 2-2 or 1-2 for most domestic flights heads and shoulders above Southwest, there’s often a snack if not a full meal (not that you should eat it anyway) guaranteed priority boarding (which also means you get off the plane fast too).
I don’t think the post is misleading, I think that the view you have of Southwest doesn’t adequately compare to what you’d receive at other carriers in the same situation.
But we do agree on how lovely Alaska Airlines is.
WN are always the most expensive fare ex-ATL, often more than DL who have no reason to lowball fares. I see their fares along with all the other carriers in my corporate portal (Concur, which is possibly the worst booking engine on earth but that’s another topic). I’ll stick with AA despite this summer from hell.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t Southwest consistently have more pitch than other airlines? ( except JetBlue )
I feel like I am a sardine on American/United vs wn… maybe it’s mental.