For too long, if you wanted to find the cheapest flights on Google Flights, you had to add an extra step to your trip planning to see if Southwest offered a cheaper flight. This meant opening a second tab for Southwest Airlines and running parallel searches. Sure, it is not a herculean feat, but it is still an added step in the already tedious and anxiety-inducing experience of booking a flight.
“Historically, when people wanted to do a bit of price comparison between Southwest and other airlines, they had to open a separate tab to do the trick since Southwest did not allow its fares to be displayed on Metasearch sites and OTAs,” Going.com’s resident travel expert Katy Nastro explained to Thrillist. “It’s always marched to the beat of its own drummer, most of which benefits travelers, but price shopping was quite the opposite. Now, all that back and forth ends and consumers have a much user friendly experience with Southwest when searching through Google Flights.”
Thankfully, that added step is now somewhat redundant. Google Flights currently shows Southwest flight prices and allows you to click directly into the website to book.
“We’re extending the reach of Southwest.com by giving users of Google Flights enhanced visibility into our available flights, fares, and the benefits of our products and services,” a Southwest representative told USA Today in a statement. “In our initial piloting of this partnership, we’ve made it possible for Google Flights users to compare our different fare options and click directly into Southwest.com to book their selected itinerary.”
Having the prices in one place will make finding the best value flight option even easier, but that’s not all. Southwest also has a few offers other carriers don’t have, including free carry-ons and checked bags and an open seating policy. Now, you can compare all the lowest flight prices and look into any additional charges for extra luggage.
Being on Google Flights is just one change that Southwest Airlines is considering. The airline is also considering discontinuing its open seating program—a controversial option for a controversial policy. It is part of the airline’s bid to raise revenue next year.