Global distribution system provider Travelport now offers its travel-agent clients the ability to sell Southwest Airlines' EarlyBird Check-In through the company's Travelport Plus platform, the company announced Thursday.
Essentially, this means that travelers with EarlyBird Check-In get automatically checked in 36 hours prior to departure, allowing them to get an earlier boarding position—meaning a better chance to get their preferred seat as well as overhead bin space.
In addition, agencies using Travelport Plus more easily will be able to perform an even exchange of an existing EarlyBird Check-In electronic miscellaneous document despite any price difference, according to Travelport.
Southwest expects EarlyBird Check-In to be available through Sabre this year, a spokesperson told BTN. Southwest senior director of B2B strategy and services Rob Brown last summer told BTN portfolio mate The Beat that the carrier also sold EarlyBird Check-In through Amadeus.
Southwest went live in Travelport's Apollo, Worldspan and Galileo global distribution systems in 2020. Travelport Plus is the single platform that is replacing those three GDSs.