Southwest Wants to Be the Most Military-Friendly Airline

By Sharon Lo, Managing Editor, DTJ & The Source

Over the past three-plus years, Southwest Airlines has focused its time and resources on enhancing the travel experience for US Military service men and women. Since 2020, the airline has integrated

Amadeus, Travelport, and Sabre travel distribution platforms. According to Chief Sales Officer, Dave Harvey, this was a huge win for reducing friction for both travelers and Southwest employees.

Reducing friction was the goal when the airline decided to take a step back to exam- ine the entire travel journey of its military customers. The resulting changes not only bridged gaps for travelers but also made things more efficient and better for the company’s employees from the back office to the front line.

The Defense Travel System (DTS) is the primary travel primary tool Department of Defense (DOD) personnel use to manage their commercial travel. However, Southwest had its own unique method for initial bookings. The airline has now made the changes necessary to align with industry standards.

Flight cancellation and change processes were also unique to the airline—and were high-touch activities for Travel Management Companies (TMCs). This is another area that has been brought up to industry standards. By Harvey’s estimation, fully automating this process effectively saves the government hundreds of thousands of dollars a month.

In fact, travelers with an active-duty military ID can check up to 20 bags at no charge. In addition, the excess weight fee is waived, meaning those 20 bags can be up to 100 pounds or 80 inches each.

Travelers of the airline may have noticed the introduction of the Wanna Get Away Plus fare last year, as well as the integration of Early Bird Check-in to the Anytime fare. EarlyBird Check-in was correspondingly embedded into the GSA City Pair Program Unrestricted Coach

Class Fare (YCA). With this feature, travelers will be automatically checked into their flights 36-hours before departure resulting in a majority of Southwest’s military travelers getting an A boarding position.

Should that not be the case, the airline implemented a new policy to allow those with an active-duty military ID to board between the A and B boarding groups. This policy applies to both business and leisure travel, and essentially guarantees military members a window or aisle seat.

“We take pride at Southwest in serving military travelers well and that’s also been a big motivator for us to make these changes,” said Harvey. “We want to be the most military-friendly we can possibly be.”

Southwest has long applied a similar military-friendly stance regarding its baggage policy. While the company often promotes its “bags fly free” policy, the reality for military members extends far beyond the two checked bags this slogan normally represents. In fact, travelers with an active-duty military ID can check up to 20 bags at no charge. In addition, the excess weight fee is waived, meaning those

20 bags can be up to 100 pounds or 80 inches each.

As the airline continues implementing changes, it has also made a $2 billion commitment to improving several key onboard products. In the near future, Southwest plans to provide power at every seat, vastly improved Wi-Fi capability, and larger overhead bins.

“During the holidays, we weren’t at our best from an operational reliability standpoint,” said Harvey. “For 51 years we have been a leader when it comes to on-time performance and reliability, and we have been working very rapidly to care for the customers impacted, as well as putting short- and long-term investments, process changes, and even leadership involvement into how we manage the day of operations to ensure that never happens again.

“It has put a really bright light on making sure that front-line teams and network operations control that oversee the daily schedule have all of the tools and resources they need. We are focused on reliability and on-time performance, which I know is critical for our military and government travelers.” DTJ