• Tweet ^[1]
• Email ^[2]

• Tweet ^[1]
• Email ^[2]

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 cheapest airline tickets ^[3], 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 ^[4].
• 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.