Booking a low-cost getaway just got easier.
Southwest Airlines recently announced a new partnership with Expedia Group, where the travel company will begin selling tickets on behalf of the low-cost airline.
Expedia, which owns CheapTickets, Hotwire, Orbitz, and Travelocity, has over ten million daily visitors to its websites.
Southwest’s route map currently spans 117 destinations over eleven countries.
The airline also recently announced an agreement with Icelandair to offer connection service throughout Europe and Iceland.
The new partnership with Expedia will expand the ways that travelers can purchase tickets on the flights, where previously they could only book on Southwest.com.
The travel company will officially start selling Southwest tickets by Thursday, February 27, 2025, and both the airline and Expedia described the move as a “travel industry first."
"Southwest Airlines is a beloved brand known for its customer-first service and operational excellence,” Expedia Group’s Chief Commercial Officer Greg Schulze shared in a statement to Travel + Leisure.
“This partnership aligns perfectly with our mission to offer the most travel options and deliver exceptional value to our customers."
The partnership will also expand access to Expedia's AI-driven tools, where travelers can utilize artificial intelligence for assistance in booking travel.
Expedia is also known for its free travel rewards program, OneKey. Members can earn points and perks on travel purchases, along with a 10 percent discount on hotels, and extra discounts when combining a flight and hotel.
Expedia Group is known as an online travel agent, or OTA. Other online agents include Booking Holdings, which owns the Priceline, Kayak, and OpenTable brands.
In May 2024, Southwest made headlines by announcing they would begin sharing their flight data and prices on Google Flights.
The move allowed Southwest to remain competitive with other airlines, by displaying their prices alongside the likes of United, Delta, American, and Alaska.
The airline also began offering red-eye routes, providing overnight cross-country travel from Las Vegas, NV and Phoenix, AZ to Baltimore, MD.
