You Can Now See Southwest Fares on Google Flights – Technologist

If you’re familiar with Google Flights, the essential online travel tool that money expert Clark Howard and Team Clark love to use to book airline tickets, you know that the one drawback has been that it has historically excluded flights from Southwest Airlines.

The thinking among customers has been that Southwest wants passengers to find cheap fares only on their official website and app — but apparently, there’s been a change of (travel) plans.

Southwest Fares Now Appear on Google Flights

Southwest fares now appear on Google Flights, which is a brand-new development that has been making headlines.

The move by Southwest is just a pilot program for now, but it allows the airline to compete in Google Flights search results, which may be a favorable matchup more times than not.

“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 spokesperson told CBS News. “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.”

There’s no word yet on how long the test will last or whether Southwest will expand its trial to other booking platforms. I checked Expedia.com and Booking.com to see if the carrier’s fares would appear there, but they didn’t.

How To See Southwest Fares on Google Flights

Visit Google Flights and type in the departing and arriving cities. To test the search results, I typed in Atlanta to Houston. Sure enough, Southwest fares popped up. Here’s what that looks like:

Screenshot via Google Flights

When I clicked on the fare, it showed the booking options and I clicked the blue “Continue” button and was forwarded to Southwest.com, where the actual booking takes place.

Screenshot via Google Flights

Final Thoughts

Being added to Google Flights makes it easier to compare Southwest fares with the other major airlines, so that’s a win for the traveler.

If you want to know the ins and outs of flying with the carrier, check out our “8 Things to Know Before You Fly Southwest Airlines” guide.

Interested in checking fare prices? Read our guide on how to get the most out of Google Flights.