Travel Agencies See Huge Opportunity as Southwest Business Expands
Photo Credit: A Southwest aircraft as seen from below. Flickr / Miss Shari
Skift Take
The airline's recent agreements with Amadeus and Travelport signal a turning point in its distribution strategy. This is a big deal for travel management companies.
Southwest Airlines has always done things a little differently. While most major U.S. airlines like Delta, American, and United have long-standing relationships with the big travel management companies, Southwest has gone almost its entire 50-plus years without establishing those relationships at all.
This has made things tough for the travel agencies involved, especially since Southwest is a pretty popular airline for business travelers. Companies like American Express Global Business Travel, CWT, and BCD Travel have struggled for decades to book with Southwest, but have found the process costly and time-consuming.
Southwest in August announced agreements with Amadeus and Travelport, two of the largest global
