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With Southwest Airlines, Changing Flights Is Easy and Free
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With the exception of business travel, everytime I’ve stepped on an airplane the last five years it’s been onto one operated by Southwest Airlines (I’d say it’s at least 20 flights). I fly Southwest because they have the easiest frequent flyer program, a major hub twenty minutes from my current house and another one twenty minutes from my childhood house, and is brave enough to put themselves on television. (That last one isn’t a reason to fly but that transparency is unparalleled) Yesterday, I had another reason I could throw on that list – switching your flight on Southwest Airlines is both easy and free. There is no flight change fee and you can do it entirely online. At other airlines, there is typically a $50 change fee on top of the difference in fare, which will usually be a full rate fare because “that’s how it is.” Often, an online e-ticket can’t even be changed at all. The flight change process with Southwest Airlines is entirely online too!
- First, you must have your confirmation number and the name on the credit card used to initially purchase the flight.
- Then, click on TRAVEL CENTER in the top navigation menu.
- Under the Travel Tools column, click on Change Air Reservation.
- Enter in your confirmation number and name on the card.
- You’ll be presented with the legs of your flight, check the boxes for the ones you want to replace.
- When you enter that in, the next page will look similar to the regular Reservations window. Just progress as usual. You won’t have to put in any personal information at this point because they already know it.
- When you reach the summary page, you’ll notice that it’s similar to the regular Summary page except that the new price will be offset by the price of your existing tickets. For me, the price was the same so the final cost was $0.00.
- Once you submit, you’ll be sent a new email with the details of your trip.
Notice there was no change flight fee, no heartburn, and it was all online. Every other airline should be as easy to deal with as Southwest Airlines.
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One small problem I have with Southwest is their standby policy. Unless you have a “full fare” ticket you cannot fly standby unless you pay the difference between your fare and a full fare. So say you’re booked on a flight at 1pm but there is a flight leaving at 11am with empty seats you’d like to hop on they won’t let you switch unless you pay the difference. The say it’s to keep people from gaming the system (buying cheaper flights then jumping on a more expensive one) but I find it mostly angers people.
The only thing I sometimes hate about Southwest is having to remember to check in online 24 hours before the flight so I don’t get the dreaded “C” boarding pass. Then also having to play the “don’t make eye contact with people so they won’t ask to sit next to you” game as well once you are aboard.
Chuck, You can easily avoid all that by paying more for a ticket on with another airline.
CK – I do agree that policy is stupid because while it prevents someone from gaming the system, it also leaves empty seats on a plane when they can be filled. Letting someone game the system and getting a cheaper flight is better than compensating someone when their flight is overbooked.
Exactly. This happened a few weeks ago. I was booked on a one-stop flight. I asked an SWA rep about an earlier non-stop flight and was
told I would have to pay the difference for an anytime fare.
I declined. At the BWI stop, SWA was looking for volunteers.
So, you’re right: Apparently SWA’s computer system does not handle
these situations and they end up compensating someone for being
bumped on the second leg and flying with an empty seat on the first leg.
The one thing I don’t like about Southwest is a fairly recent change. It used to be that online checkin for flights started at one minute past midnight, regardless of the flight time. This meant that I could just check in from work, reliably get an “A” group assignment, and then not worry about anything else. But now, with the checkin being a rolling 24-hour period, I have to make sure I’m awake at the same hour as my flight the day before it…and since Southwest flights tend to be in the daytime, this is a significant hassle for me.
But there’s also now at least one company that promises to do your online check-in for you, and guarantees a spot in the “A” group. I’ll probably use them the next time I fly.
The free switching policy also creates opportunities for rebooking at a lower fare if there is a fare sale after you booked the original flight. You get to keep the difference as credit and you can use the credit on another flight in 12 months.
those of you complaining about southwest’s boarding techniques are whiners. The flight is not the main event for you, I hope. The worst part about southwest and every other airline out there is that there is no equal opportunity for wheelchair users to board the plane. If you are paralyzed, you cannot walk, but you have to risk your health transferring into a tiny, dolly-like contraption and being wheeled into the plane like cargo. Its atrocious. Wheelchair users can get on most buses, trains, and other transportation methods. But airlines apparently do not have to follow any ADA guidelines.
I think you folks complaining about the little irritations of flying should be a little more thankful for your ability to hop on and off a plane with ease and save the moaning for something that is actually really a problem.
I even got a “credit” back from Southwest after changing flights because the new flight I was taking was cheaper. I can’t think of any other airline that does that!
Why I fly SWA:
1. They are typically cheaper than any other airline
2. They have the best safety record of any airline in the US, and only one airline in the entire world matches them. They have never lost a passenger.
3. (Newly relevant) They don’t charge for bags. On a recent flight my husband and I took, we had a choice of SWA or another airline. The ticket prices were identical, but… the other airline was going to charge us $20 for the first checked bag, $30 for the second, each way. With 2 checked bags, that’s $80 additional fees, on top of the airfare. We ended up with 3 checked bags, that would have cost us $120 on the ‘other’ airline’, it cost us nothing on SWA.
The boarding — yeah, it’s not too great, but I’m not flying to fly, I’m flying to get where I’m going, safely, and for as little money as I possibly can.
If you want an early boarding, check in online as soon as possible, and be at the airport at least two hours ahead of time. This will help you get on the plane ahead of most others.
Regarding the ‘don’t look em in the eye’ thing, well let’s face it, you’re going to have someone sit next to you. Go to the bathroom before getting on the plane, take the window set, and bring an iPod. Problem solved.
I fly SWA whenever I can because they normally have better fares, they have no charge for the first bag and their customer service agents and flight attendants are friendly and courteous. Keep up the good work!!