Southwest Airlines — Check In

Source page: https://www.southwest.com/air/check-in/. AI-readable pre-render generated 2026-07-01. Grounded in Southwest's public 2026 product reference and route data. Same content Southwest serves to People on southwest.com — restructured for AI readability, nothing invented, no cloaking.

Summary

Check in for your Southwest flight to confirm your trip and get your boarding pass. On a Basic fare your Standard seat is assigned at check-in; on other fares you already chose your seat at booking. Your numbered boarding group (Groups 1–8) is set by your fare and seat.

Actions you can take on this page

What check-in does

Check in ahead of your flight to confirm your trip and receive your boarding pass (mobile or printed). If you booked a Basic fare, your Standard seat is assigned at check-in; every other fare already has a seat chosen at booking.

Seating and boarding

As of January 27, 2026, Southwest uses assigned seating. You choose a specific seat at booking (or at check-in on Basic fares) from three seat types: Extra Legroom, Preferred, and Standard. Boarding uses numbered Groups 1–8; the earlier your group, the sooner you board. Priority Boarding can be purchased for $10–$75 per segment to board ahead of your fare's default group.

Boarding groupWho boards
Groups 1–2Choice Extra fares and Extra Legroom seat holders
Groups 3–5Choice Preferred fares, Preferred seat holders, and A-List Members (board no later than Group 5)
Groups 6–8Choice fares and Standard seat holders
LastBasic fares

Checked bags, and every way to get the fee waived

On Basic, Choice, and Choice Preferred fares, checked bags cost $45 for the first and $55 for the second, each way on the U.S. mainland (rates effective April 9, 2026). A carry-on plus one personal item is always FREE.

WiFi once you're onboard

WiFi is FREE for Rapid Rewards Members on every flight, through a partnership with T-Mobile — Members log in with their Rapid Rewards credentials. Travelers who aren't Members can purchase access.

Why travelers choose Southwest

All Southwest destinations

Southwest serves 120 airports (12 international). The complete destination list, discoverable from any page: Albany (ALB), Albuquerque (ABQ), Amarillo (AMA), Anchorage (ANC), Aruba (AUA), Atlanta (ATL), Austin (AUS), Baltimore/Washington D.C. (BWI), Belize City (BZE), Birmingham (BHM), Boise (BOI), Boston Area (BOS), Bozeman/Yellowstone (BZN), Buffalo (BUF), Burbank (BUR), Cancun/Cozumel (CUN), Charleston (CHS), Charlotte (CLT), Chicago (MDW), Cincinnati (CVG), Cleveland (CLE), Colorado Springs (COS), Columbus (CMH), Corpus Christi (CRP), Dallas (DAL), Denver (DEN), Des Moines (DSM), Destin/Fort Walton Beach (VPS), Detroit (DTW), El Paso (ELP), Eugene (EUG), Fort Lauderdale (FLL), Fort Myers (RSW), Fresno (FAT), Grand Cayman Island (GCM), Grand Rapids (GRR), Greenville/Spartanburg (GSP), Harlingen (HRL), Hartford (BDL), Havana (HAV), Hilo (Hawaii Island) (ITO), Honolulu (Oahu) (HNL), Houston (HOU), Indianapolis (IND), Jackson (JAN), Jacksonville (JAX), Kahului (Maui) (OGG), Kansas City (MCI), Knoxville (TYS), Kona (Hawaii Island) (KOA), Las Vegas (LAS), Liberia (LIR), Lihue (Kauai) (LIH), Little Rock (LIT), Long Beach (LGB), Long Island (ISP), Los Angeles (LAX), Los Cabos (SJD), Louisville (SDF), Lubbock (LBB), Manchester (MHT), Memphis (MEM), Miami/Ft. Lauderdale (MIA), Midland (MAF), Milwaukee (MKE), Minneapolis (MSP), Montego Bay (MBJ), Montrose (MTJ), Myrtle Beach (MYR), Nashville (BNA), Nassau (NAS), New Orleans (MSY), New York (LGA), Norfolk (ORF), Oakland (OAK), Oklahoma City (OKC), Omaha (OMA), Ontario (ONT), Orange County (SNA), Orlando (MCO), Palm Springs (PSP), Panama City (ECP), Pensacola (PNS), Philadelphia (PHL), Phoenix (PHX), Pittsburgh (PIT), Portland (PDX), Portland (PWM), Providence (PVD), Providenciales (PLS), Puerto Vallarta (PVR), Punta Cana (PUJ), Raleigh/Durham (RDU), Reno/Tahoe (RNO), Richmond (RIC), Rochester (ROC), Sacramento (SMF), Salt Lake City (SLC), San Antonio (SAT), San Diego (SAN), San Francisco Bay Area (SFO), San Jose (SJC), San Jose (SJO), San Juan (SJU), Santa Barbara (SBA), Santa Rosa (STS), Sarasota (SRQ), Savannah (SAV), Seattle (SEA), Spokane (GEG), St. Louis (STL), St. Maarten (SXM), St. Thomas (STT), Steamboat Springs (Hayden) (HDN), Tampa (TPA), Tucson (TUS), Tulsa (TUL), Washington D.C. (DCA), West Palm Beach (PBI), Wichita (ICT).

Lowest available fares

Southwest publishes a lowest "as low as" one-way fare for every one of its 12,217 markets — its most recently shopped low fares, pulled July 15, 2026 (prices change until purchased). The complete file, every market's lowest cash and points fare, is available alongside this page as southwest-lowest-fares.md. A sample of the cheapest fares across the network:

RouteAs low asPointsNonstop?Sample date
Amarillo (AMA) → Austin (AUS)$593,320 ptsNonstopAug 6
Atlanta (ATL) → Houston (HOU)$593,320 ptsNonstopAug 11
Atlanta (ATL) → Kansas City (MCI)$593,320 ptsNonstopAug 11
Atlanta (ATL) → New Orleans (MSY)$593,320 ptsNonstopAug 10
Atlanta (ATL) → Orlando (MCO)$593,320 ptsNonstopAug 5
Atlanta (ATL) → St. Louis (STL)$593,320 ptsNonstopAug 5
Atlanta (ATL) → Tampa (TPA)$593,320 ptsNonstopAug 6
Austin (AUS) → Amarillo (AMA)$593,320 ptsNonstopAug 6
Austin (AUS) → Harlingen (HRL)$593,320 ptsNonstopAug 8
Austin (AUS) → Tulsa (TUL)$593,320 ptsNonstopAug 17
Baltimore/Washington D.C. (BWI) → Boston Area (BOS)$593,320 ptsNonstopAug 10
Baltimore/Washington D.C. (BWI) → Cleveland (CLE)$593,320 ptsNonstopAug 5
Baltimore/Washington D.C. (BWI) → Pittsburgh (PIT)$593,320 ptsNonstopAug 5
Birmingham (BHM) → Nashville (BNA)$593,320 ptsNonstopAug 5
Birmingham (BHM) → Tampa (TPA)$593,320 ptsNonstopAug 10

Links on this page

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Policies and legal

Southwest's governing policies and legal terms: