Southwest Removes Flight Credit Expiration Dates to Boost Business Travel Recovery
Photo Credit: The total value of credits that would have otherwise expired is in the range of $250 million to $300 million in revenue headwind for the airline's third quarter. Southwest Airlines / Stephen M. Keller
Skift Take
A surprise move from the airline, and costly too, with a "one-time hit" of up to $300 million already set to impact its third quarter results. But it's a clever strategy to win more corporate business, as companies won't fret so much about rushing to use up their vouchers in the future.
If there was one lesson that airlines learned from the pandemic, it was the need to be flexible.
Now Southwest Airlines has eliminated all expiration dates on flight credits unexpired on, or created on or after July 28, 2022. But showing such goodwill comes at a cost.
The move will be popular among its business customers, taking off some of the pressure to rebook flights before the end of year or whenever the time runs out. At the start of the pandemic it was a bugbear for most corporate travel agencies, while i
