Southwest Airlines flights can now be booked online in more ways than ever — including with the popular travel website, Kayak.
As of Monday, travelers searching on Kayak can now see flight results displayed from Southwest, among other domestic carriers. Southwest, known for its two free checked bags and flexible modification policies, has long prevented third-party sites from displaying its fares as tickets were only bookable via its direct website.
“This is a great development for travelers,” said Kayak’s CEO, Steve Hafner, in a statement. “We first started showing Southwest in 2022 to Kayak for Business customers. We’re thrilled to expand that relationship to the millions of leisure travelers who use Kayak.”
Kayak is one of the major flight aggregator sites that display fares from multiple days to help travelers score the best deal. Earlier this year, the company introduced a PriceCheck tool powered by AI. This tool allows travelers to upload a screenshot of their airfare from any website, and Kayak will search across competitors to ensure they’ve got the lowest price possible.
The news comes just a few months after Southwest began displaying its fares on Google Flights and Chase Travel, making it easier for travelers to price shop across all of the competing carriers. On the latter site, Chase credit cardholders can even earn and redeem Ultimate Rewards points for Southwest flights.
It’s a sign of the times for Southwest, as the major domestic airline just announced the end of its signature open-boarding policy and will be rolling out premium seating with extra legroom. Along with the announcement, Southwest even added its very first red-eye flights for sale, taking off in February 2025.
Southwest, similar to many other low-cost carriers, has reported underwhelming earnings despite soaring travel demand. However, the airline is not alone in rolling out major changes as Spirit and Frontier have adjusted their business models to meet consumer demand and boost ancillary revenue.