Kayak Now Shows Southwest Airlines Flights

From assigned seats to red-eye flights, it’s a time of big change for Southwest Airlines, and this week brought another.

Travel search site Kayak now displays Southwest fares, the company announced Monday, allowing users to compare prices and itinerary options directly with those of other airlines.

This is a major change. Historically, Southwest has never allowed third-party companies to display its schedule and fare data.

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However, in recent months the situation has started to change.

In May, TPG announced that Southwest fares began appearing on Google Flights, increasing flight comparison capabilities for users.

And on Monday, Kayak joined the small list of companies able to view Southwest data.

A quick flight search confirms the change: You can see Southwest options pop up in search results for an October flight from Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) to Southwest’s Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) hub. It includes both the carrier’s Wanna Get Away and Wanna Get Away Plus fares.

You can’t book directly on Kayak’s website. Once you find a Southwest itinerary you want, you can click through and be taken to the carrier’s website to book directly. This is part of what Southwest calls a pilot partnership.

“This is a great development for travelers,” Kayak CEO Steve Hafner said in a statement Monday. “We began showcasing Southwest to Kayak for Business customers in 2022. We’re excited to expand this relationship to the millions of leisure travelers who use Kayak.”

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Big changes in the Southwest

Allowing Kayak to view fare data is the latest in a series of recent transformational moves for Southwest amid declining financial performance in recent quarters.

In the company’s July 25 earnings conference call, Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Watterson cited the company’s recent addition to the Google Flights group, among “some of our other customer acquisition activities,” as a key element in its efforts to fill more aircraft with passengers.

That same day, Southwest announced additional efforts to boost revenue, including abandoning its long-standing open-seat configuration and adding extra-legroom options. It also revealed it would increase the utilization of its jets through red-eye flights.

Regarding Kayak’s expansion, the airline said it hopes to give customers “greater visibility” into available fares and flight options.

“We are excited to continue finding ways to introduce more consumers to the appeal of our unique combination of value, flexible and friendly policies, and breadth of flight service,” Southwest said in a statement to TPG on Monday.

The airline has given no indication whether it plans to allow other third-party sites to display its flight information in the near future.

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Easier ways to search for flights

Southwest’s addition to Google Flights and Kayak is one of a few recent changes in the U.S. airline industry that are making it easier to compare flight prices across a wide range of airlines.

In recent months, low-cost carriers Frontier Airlines and Spirit Airlines have both announced changes to the way they display fares and additional fees. Each now plans to offer four distinct types of advance tickets, or bundles, with product offerings ranging from basic and unbundled to premium.

This is a four-tier configuration that appears much more similar to the price points offered by larger airlines.

This, combined with the fact that Southwest fares are available in more locations, should give travelers a more complete overview of their flight options when choosing the best airline and itinerary.

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