Change of plans? No problem! Southwest Airlines has you covered, for all your traveling concerns
regarding cancellation or change of itinerary, a quick rundown of this article should have you covered
for any prospective contingencies regarding all your traveling woes. Here is all the related
information for changing and canceling your flight reservations with Southwest airlines.
Cancellation Policy on Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines offers to all its passengers a convenient zero cancellation fee policy, which means
any passenger who wishes to cancel their concurrent booking can get it done anytime, up to even 10
minutes before the scheduled departure of the flight.
However, if the passenger is unable to make the change/cancellation before the stipulated time (any
the time prior to 10 minutes before the scheduled flight departure) with the airline, otherwise any value
reserved will not be redeemable by the flier for future travels with the airlines.
Passengers can get their cancellation done without any hassle directly from the company’s official
website at www.Southwest.com or through the official app Southwest App available both on
Android Play Store and Apple Apps Store.
In case passengers decide not to travel normal cancellation policies will apply. For the three available
fare class tickets here are the options available:
-Business Select & Anytime Tickets: Both these class tickets are refundable. Passengers can
opt to either get a refund into their desired mode of choice OR can choose to hold the value
of the ticket with the airlines that they can redeem for future travels.
-Wanna Get Away Tickets: Refunds for this Class Fare is not available and in case of applied
cancellation the value of the ticket will get carried over as travel funds that the passenger
can redeem later in the future for travels with the airlines.
| CLASS FARE TYPE | REUSABLE | REFUNDABLE |
| WANNA GET AWAY | APPLICABLE (TRAVEL FUNDS CREDIT) | NON-REFUNDABLE |
| ANYTIME | APPLICABLE (TRAVEL FUNDS CREDIT) | REFUNDABLE (REFUNDS BACK TO DESIRED PAYMENT OPTION) |
| BUSINESS SELECT | APPLICABLE (TRAVEL FUNDS CREDIT) | REFUNDABLE (REFUNDS BACK TO DESIRED PAYMENT OPTION) |
Reusable Funds by Southwest Airlines after Cancellation
Fliers of Southwest Airlines from all class fares are entitled to Reusable funds that are issued by the
airlines, as long as fliers comply with the designated policy of cancellation beforehand, i.e. anytime
up to 10 minutes before the designated/scheduled flight departure.
Reusable Funds are redeemable up to a year from the time of booking of original flight tickets.
Reusable Funds are non-transferable and have to be used before the expiration date.
Refundable Fares by Southwest Airlines after Cancellation
Refunds are available for both ‘Anytime’ Fare Class and ‘Business Select’ Fare Class. This option is
however not available for ‘Wanna Get Away’ Fare passengers. To avail these option passengers, have
to follow the standard procedure of getting their flights cancelled before the departure of the flight
(reservations can be cancelled anytime up to 10 minutes before the scheduled flight departure).
Passengers will be given the option of receiving the refund back to their original mode of payment
OR as Travel Funds that can be utilised by the passenger whenever they wish to book tickets next.
Non-Refundable Fares by Southwest Airlines after Cancellation
Southwest Airlines offers to its fliers with Non-Refundable Fare Tickets (for all Fare Class Types
including Wanna Get Away Fare Type) an option of full refund if they cancel their reservations within
24hours of booking through the official Southwest Airlines at www.Southewest.com OR through the
official Southwest Airlines app. The passenger will be given an option to get a refund reverted back
to their original mode of payment OR converted into Travel Funds that the passengers can avail for
future travels with the airlines.
If passengers have availed Southwest Gift cards or Vouchers at the time of booking their tickets and
cancelled within the stipulated 24 hours, they can contact Southwest Customer Service at
1-800-I-FLY-SWA (1-800-435-9792)
For Anytime and Business Select Fliers, any unused funds will be converted back the passengers
reusable Travel Funds.
For passenger who do not show up for their Reward Travel booking, the utilized points will be
transferred back into Passengers Rapid Rewards Account and any applied taxes or fees applied on
the reservation will be converted back into Travel Funds that the passenger can reutilize for future
travels.
No Show Policy
If a passenger with a confirmed reservation intends on not travelling any portion/leg of their
itinerary flights, they have to make sure to make cancellation before the schedule departure of the
flight (anytime up to 10 minutes before the scheduled flight departure) otherwise it will be deemed
as a “no show” and all subsequent flights and its attached value will be lost.
Passengers with Wanna Get Away fare should make sure to cancel their reservation beforehand if
they do not intend to travel or else will not be afforded any Travel Funds.
How to Cancel
For cancellation of flight reservation passengers can use the following steps:
-Visit the official Southwest website at www.Southwest.com/cancel or Open the Southwest
app and select the “Manage Reservations” option provided in the menu “Flight”
-Provide your confirmation number and passengers number in the allotted space on the reservation menu
-Continue by selecting the “Cancel Flight” option given to cancel your flight.
Passengers that opt for a refund will see the value credited back into the original mode of payment within a stipulated time of two billing cycles.
Travel Funds in case passenger choose to not avail a refund will be up for immediate use and will be available
directly in the passenger’s Southwest Account and can be redeemed anytime up to one year from the time of cancellation of the original flight.
Changes to Existing Reservation
At Southwest Airlines no charges are levied for making changes to an existing reservation, only the
applicable fare difference of the new flight booking is incurred (in case the subsequent flight
bookings fare is higher or for change in class fare type)
Other Notable Points for your reservation
Any flight booked using points will be credited back into the account used for booking also any applied taxes or fee imposed while booking will also be eligible for a refund.
-Passengers who have availed EarlyBird Check-In and not utilized it cannot avail refunds of the service as it is non-refundable. Cancellation of flights by the passenger will also not allow refunds for this service. Only in cases of where the flight gets cancelled by Southwest Airlines will there be a refund for EarlyBird Check-In.
If passenger wish to convert their existing Travel Funds back into refund they can do as by contacting:
Southwest AirlinesRefunds DepartmentP.O. Box 36649Dallas, Texas 75235-1649
The Refunds Department at Southwest Airlines revert back the passenger’s applied refund back to the original
mode of credit/debit payment back within 7 days from the time of request received, which may include up to 10 business days by the bank to reflect the payment in the passengers Bank Account.