Step-by-Step Booking Instructions - Southwest Shortcut

If you are you flexible with travel dates, Southwest Shortcut to low fares will search weeks/months at a time to find the lowest available fare. You can access Southwest Shortcut from the southwest.com home page by clicking the Southwest Shortcut link in the "Inside southwest.com" section.

To get started, we ask you a few basic questions:

Where are you traveling?

Select your departure and arrival cities from the Depart and Arrive drop down menus.
For roundtrip travel, select a return city from the Return drop down menu.
To return to the same city from which you departed, select Depart City/Roundtrip from the Return drop down menu.
For one-way travel, select None from the Return drop down menu.

What is your preferred travel date?

Select your preferred departure date from the Depart Date drop down menu.
Select your preferred return date from the Return Date drop down menu.
If you are reserving a one-way flight, it is not necessary to select a return travel date and time.

How many are traveling?

Enter the number of people traveling (maximum of eight) in the Passengers drop down menu. If only one person is traveling you may skip this step.
If more than eight people are traveling, you must call Southwest Airlines at 1-800-IFLYSWA^® (1-800-435-9792).
For groups of ten or more, check out our Groups information online.
If this reservation includes a child or is for an Unaccompanied Minor, please read our Travel Tips for Children.

Click the “Go To Next Step - Select Travel Dates” button.

After you click the “Go To Next Step - Select Travel Dates” button:

Select your Travel Date and Fare

A calendar (two calendars for a roundtrip) will be displayed, and a range of dates for your requested outbound and return travel will be displayed.
Available fare types for the date range are assigned a color in the Available Fares Table to the right of the calendar(s). For example, the color yellow represents the Wanna Get Away fares.
The Price on each day of the calendar represents the lowest fare available for purchase on at least one flight that day.
You can exclude a fare type from the calendar(s) by unchecking the box next to the the fare type in the Available Fares Table.
The preferred travel date you entered earlier will be selected automatically. You can change your travel dates by using the drop down boxes or by clicking on the dates in the calendar(s).
Once you are satisfied with your dates of travel and your fare, scroll to the bottom of the page and click "Go to Next Step - Select Flight".
On the Select Flight page you will choose the specific flight time for the day(s) you selected.

Go forward to Air Step 2: Select Flight