Step-by-Step Booking Instructions - Air

In this step, you will tell us about your itinerary so that we can display a list of available flights and fares. You can also click on Rapid Rewards Award Reservations or Rapid Rewards Companion Pass Reservations at the top of the page if you need to make an Award or Companion pass reservation.

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

• Select your departure date from the Depart Date scroll box.
• Select your departure time by clicking the corresponding circle in the Depart Time column.
• Select your return date from the Return Date scroll box.
• Select your return time by clicking the corresponding circle in the Return Time column.
• If you are reserving a one-way flight, it is not necessary to select a return travel date and time.

• 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.

• From time to time, Southwest Airlines may issue promotion codes for discounts off of air travel. If you have a Southwest Airlines promotion code for a discount off of air travel, enter it in the Promotion Code field.

If you want to book a rental car, click Yes. If not, you may skip this question.

• Select Car Company and Vehicle Type from the scroll boxes.
• To see cars and prices for our Preferred Partners, select Shop All Rapid Rewards Partners.
• To see cars and prices for all rental car companies offered on southwest.com, select Shop All Cars.
• Enter any applicable Car Company Codes/Numbers. Be sure to select the correct car company using the drop-down menus.
• For a detailed description of each vehicle type, click the vehicle types link (below the Vehicle Type scroll box).
• You will be prompted for additional information about your car rental later in the reservation process.
• For car only reservations (no air reservation), please see Step-by-Step car rental booking instructions.

If you want to book a hotel, click Yes. If not, you may skip this question.

• Type a City, Point of Interest, Address OR click the "Airport" link to select a Southwest City/Airport from the scroll box. If you choose the Airport link, select the 3 letter airport code to pre-fill the field.
• Optional Settings:
  • Search by hotel chains that offer Rapid Rewards credit - Check this box if you prefer to stay at hotels that offer Rapid Rewards credits.
  • Search by a specific hotel chain - If you have a chain preference, select your chain(s) from this scroll box to search only for hotels within the selected chain(s).
  • Search for specific Hotel name - Enter your hotel name here if you already know where you would like to stay. You will not be able to enter a specific hotel name and check the Rapid Reward box.
• Enter your Check in and Check out dates from the corresponding scroll boxes.
• Enter the total number of guests (Adults - 4 max. and Children - 3 max. Total number of guests is 4)
• Enter the hotel promotion code if applicable. The properties returned with your promotion code will be indicated by a gold star.

• Click the “Go To Next Step - Select Flight >>” button.
• If you receive an error message when you click on the “Go To Next Step - Select Flight >>” button, follow the directions on the screen to correct the error.

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Go Forward to Air Step 2: Select Flight

Go Back to Air: Getting Started