Did you know that if you’re flying Southwest Airlines with 10 or more people, you can get a special discount on your flights? It’s true!

It’s called the Southwest Group Travel program. This program is especially for those flying with 10 or more people together on the same flight.

It could be a large family or several families traveling together or an organized group like a sports team, school band or church group.

Southwest’s program aims to make it more affordable and easier for the group to secure seats on the same flight at the same discounted price. The program covers both domestic and international flights. 

What Is the Southwest Group Travel Program?

Southwest wings

The Southwest Group Travel program is a special program for groups of 10 or more people traveling together for personal or business reasons.

Some of the groups eligible to use this program include: 

  • Large families 
  • Weddings 
  • School groups
  • Music groups 
  • Religious groups 
  • Sports teams 

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What Are the Benefits of Southwest Group Travel?

You still get two FREE checked bags, one of the BEST perks of flying Southwest! One bag can even be a musical instrument or sports gear.

You can check-in online (read our top tips for Southwest check-in); however, Early Bird seating is not available, and you’ll need to swing by the ticket counter or kiosk to get your boarding pass. 

Discounted prices for flights —woohoo! And you’ll get the same discounted price for everyone in your group to make management of the booking procedure simpler.

If you try to buy 10 tickets on the website instead, you may not be able to secure all the tickets at the lower price, as Southwest often limits the number of low-priced fares.

You can also make changes to names on the reservations (in case someone cancels and someone else is going in their place) up to 72 hours prior to departure.

How Does Payment Work?

The payment part is a bit tricky. You’ll need to pay a $50 deposit per passenger, which is a nice benefit in that you don’t have to pay the full price upfront.

But the deposit is NOT applied to the ticket purchase, though you will receive a refund of the deposit five days after you make the final payment. 

You must make the deposit and final payment by credit card only by uploading a Letter of Authorization, or LOA, found on the swagrouptravel.com page. If you have a large group of more than 29 people, the coordinator’s flight is FREE. Score!!

How Do You Make a Reservation?

To make your reservation, you can call Group Travel Services directly by phone at 1-800-433-5368. You’ll then need to fill out an Excel sheet (template) also available on SWAGroupTravel.com with all required fields, including Group Leader Name, Email, Departure Date and Confirmation Number.

How Do Southwest Groups Check-in and Board?

You can still check-in online if your group is traveling domestically. One person can check in the entire group or each person can check in individually. But you will have to stop at a kiosk or the counter to get your boarding passes.

Your boarding position will be listed on the pass as normal. For international flights, you can only check in one person at a time. Early bird check-in is not available to groups. 

How Do I Contact Southwest Group Travel Services?

To make a group reservation, you must call the Group Travel Services number at 1-800-433-5368. You can reach them Monday through Friday, 5 a.m. to midnight Central time. We hear hold times are a bit lengthy, so bring your patience ;-).

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Author

  • Lyn Mettler is a longtime travel writer for US News & World Report, USA Today 10Best and The TODAY Show who created Families Fly Free, a program that teaches families her simple system to use travel rewards to fly for free. She is one of the industry's foremost experts on collecting and using travel rewards with her expertise featured in major media outlets and on podcasts, television and radio.

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