Southwest Airlines has introduced a booking and travel
management tool for group travel, the carrier announced Monday.
Southwest Groups is designed to "simplify complex and
time-consuming processes" and provide the travel arranger with
self-service tools to shop, book, place deposits, manage reservations—including
name changes—and download reporting dashboards.
"Enhanced workflows empower travel managers to easily
book and manage group travel, quickly access duty of care reporting, and
minimize time spent focusing on administrative tasks, enabling them to spend
more time supporting their travelers as they travel to and from meetings and
special events," Southwest VP of sales Aileen Furlong said in a statement.
Southwest Groups is available within Southwest Business
Assist with the carrier's other B2B tools and services, including Southwest
Meetings, which launched in October 2023 and gives meeting planners the ability
to manage meeting travel agreements with the airline. Groups is available not
only for corporate travel managers, but also for travel management companies
and anyone who books group travel, according to a Southwest spokesperson.
It differs from the Meetings product in that Groups is for
moving large numbers of people to and from one origin and one destination.
Meetings is bringing people to and from several origins to one destination,
according to Southwest. Also, Groups is a booking tool, whereas Meetings is
not. Southwest Groups bookings are made directly in the airline's reservation
system with access to Groups inventory. Previously, customers booking groups had
to call a specialized desk for service.
One use case Southwest provided was for a team of employees
heading from a corporation's headquarters to a conference or tradeshow. The
travel planner or TMC knows the company is going to send at least 20 people,
but they don't know who yet. With Southwest Groups, they can pick the best
flights for the group and block those 20 seats. Closer to the departure for the
event, the travel manager or TMC can upload those 20 names and submit payment
via the self-service tools, according to the carrier.
In addition, customers with a valid group ticket that is
ticketed on or before Jan. 5, 2026, will be able to check up to two bags
without charge if within size and weight limits, according to Southwest. The
carrier in March announced that starting May 28, it would begin
to charge for checked baggage.
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