Southwest Joins Airlines Looking to Provide More Travel Management Tools
Photo Credit: Southwest Business Assist was launched at the Global Business Travel Association Convention on Monday. Southwest Airlines / Stephen M. Keller
Skift Take
A trio of airlines have overhauled their corporate platforms in the past seven days. The focus is on self-service, and managing perks as well as discounts, which could help them gain more direct business from smaller companies that are spearheading the recovery.
Southwest Airlines’ launch of a new travel portal on Monday, Southwest Business Assist, means it now becomes the third carrier within a week to overhaul its technology, in a bid to give more control to corporate clients, potentially winning it more direct business.
Last week United Airlines and Delta Air Lines made similar moves, giving more control to travel managers. They're also going to want pull in more small and medium-sized business customers, widely regarded as the fastest-growing market to emerge from the pandemic — but it may be United that has the upper hand.
It’s no coincidence the three major U.S.airlines made these announcements this past week, just as the Global Business Travel Association Convention gets into full swing in San Diego. Its organizer claims 1,000 travel buyers from more than 500 companies are attending over Aug. 14-17.
What Southwest and the other carriers will be hoping to do over the coming days at this event is make the case to smaller companies th
