Travelport and Southwest Airlines® bring EarlyBird Check-In® to Travelport+

Travelport continues to expand the Southwest products available to customers, while making it easier for Travelport+ agency users to manage exchanges for their travelers

Atlanta, USA, February 10, 2022: Travelport, a global technology company that powers bookings for hundreds of thousands of travel suppliers worldwide, today announced that agents authorized to book tickets on Southwest Airlines can now offer their customers the option to purchase the airline’s EarlyBird Check-In. Now available on Travelport+, these agents and travelers will also benefit from new ticket exchange enhancements.

With EarlyBird Check-In, agents using Travelport+ can offer travelers flying Southwest the ability to personalize their trip with automatic check-in prior to the traditional 24-hour check-in window. Travelers taking advantage of EarlyBird Check-In can secure an earlier boarding position, have a better opportunity to access their preferred available seat, and have earlier access to overhead bin space to stow carryon luggage.

“EarlyBird Check-In gives business travelers the convenience of automatic check-in, which provides a better opportunity to select their preferred available seat upon boarding”, said Eric Hall, Director of B2B Channels & Travel Management Companies Strategy at Southwest Airlines. “Our partnership with Travelport is strengthened by its optimized technology, making our content more accessible, and making exchanges easier for agents to manage.”

Travelport became the first GDS to offer full content participation from Southwest in April 2020, enabling travel management companies and agencies to save time and book Southwest for their travelers in a single, streamlined agency workflow. As the partnership continues to expand, the companies remain focused on further simplifying the retailing of Southwest products. As part of the latest Southwest enhancements, agencies using Travelport+an existing EarlyBird Check-In Electronic Miscellaneous Document (EMD) despite any price difference more easily than before. Travelport customers can contact their account manager to learn more about these new enhancements with Southwest Airlines.

“Our primary goal with this project has been making Southwest content more accessible for our customers, ensuring users can easily book the best offers for their travelers and provide them a modern, personalized retailing experience,” said Jason Clarke, Chief Commercial Officer – Travel Partners at Travelport. “Southwest continues to be a valuable partner, and I’m pleased to share that we’ve accomplished our goal with EarlyBird Check-In options now available to our Travelport+ agency users that are authorized to book Southwest.”

Travel management companies can create a more modern retailing experience for their customers booking Southwest products by using the latest tools and capabilities that are only available on Travelport+. For more information, please visit Travelport.com/plus/simpler-travel-retailing.