Southwest Direct Access (SDA) requires a separate agreement with Southwest to be in place before configuration can take place.

Note: To request SDA, enter a support case (see Entering a Support Case for instructions). To set up Southwest Direct Access (SDA), see Setting Up Air and Hotel Ancillary Sources.toc.

On this page:

What is Southwest Direct Access (SDA)?

Southwest content is now fully integrated into the Deem booking flow - , allowing the user to book, change, and cancel on the Deem platform. You can also view upcoming Southwest Trips under Upcoming Trips and rebook them (Book Again feature).

Low-fare and Schedule Search

Does Southwest Direct Access offer all Southwest fares? 

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Does the service support schedule-based search?

Yes, schedule results will be requested through SDA and presented inline with other airlines.

Does the system still use the Global Distribution System (GDS), such as Sabre, to access fares and schedules?

No, all low fare and schedule search results come through SDA.

Is all fare data stored for customers?

Yes – , all fare information is stored.

Purchase and Hold 

Are travelers allowed to hold trips?

Yes, if enabled, hold trip functionality is supported in the same manner as it works today. Southwest calls the hold function "deferred ticketing".

How long are travelers allowed to hold a trip?

Travelers are allowed to hold a trip until midnight the following day Dallas [CST] (US Central) time, or up to one hour prior to flight time when within 24 hours of flight time. Fares are not guaranteed until ticketed, and the actual fare rules may require purchase sooner than the hold time limit.

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Yes, but this is limited to system-generated passive segments only. PNR edits for passive segments are not supported.

Cancellation

Are travelers allowed to cancel trips online?

Yes, travelers are allowed to cancel SDA-originated trips online. Do not contact a travel agent. However, this does not include GDS-originated trips, which must be canceled through the agency or the airline directly.

Does the system auto-void SDA-originated trips when canceled within the existing 24-hour booking window?

Yes, trips canceled within 24 hours will be eligible for a full refund. Southwest does not support voiding of tickets, but offers a full refund for all tickets in which the original FOP was a credit card (regardless of fare type selected). This means that both refundable and non-refundable fare types will be refunded if canceled within 24 hours of booking.

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A full refund will be requested for the entire ticket including the original exchange value. The system will always request a refund for any refundable value on an unused or exchanged ticket.

Will the traveler be advised of the

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non-refundable and refundable value of their ticket prior to cancellation?

Yes, prior to canceling the trip the system will send a request to SDA to obtain the refundable and non-refundable value of the ticket. The traveler will also be advised on the confirmation page after cancellation the value of the ticket that was refunded and/or held as unused ticket. 

Can travelers cancel SDA-originated bookings online at Southwest.com or through the SWABIZ portal?

Yes, travelers can cancel their bookings online in Travel, or by going directly to Southwest.com or the SWABIZ portal. Do not contact a travel agent. Travelers are required to contact Southwest directly at 1-800-I-FLY-SWA (1-800-435-9792) to cancel any multi-passenger itinerary.

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No, once the traveler has checked in, they must contact Southwest directly at 1-800-I-FLY-SWA (1- 800-435-9792) to cancel the flight.

Unused Tickets

Does the service support the exchanging of unused funds (unused tickets)?

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The system uses the company-defined method to determine which ticket (up to two) will be used as part of the exchange – tickets . Tickets with the nearest expiration date or greatest value are used first. Traveler will not have the option to select or deselect the use of an unused ticket.

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There is no minimum residual value for an unused ticket. The system retains any positive ticket value and applies it to the purchase of a new ticket based on existing logic.

Do SDA bookings that are canceled follow the existing display settings for auto-void, auto-refund, exchange refundable to nonrefundable ticket, and exchange nonrefundable to refundable ticket?

No, if change/cancel is enabled, the system processes SDA bookings based on internal rules for retaining unused tickets, auto-refunding, and exchanges:

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SDA unused tickets remain in the unused ticket database until all the funds are used, the ticket expires, or the validation returns a zero exchangeable value. SDA tickets are valid for exchange for one year from the date of issue, with the understanding that all segments of a new ticket must be flown prior to the expiration of the exchange ticket.

Payment Options

What forms of payment does the service support?

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Yes, site cards are supported as valid forms of payment, as long as it is a one of the following credit card types – VI, CA, DS, AX, DC, and TP. The site card requires a billing address. See Enabling Site Payment Cards for details.

Site Configuration

Are there any policy settings specific to the service?

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Yes, the service fee configuration has an option to apply to air web fare bookings, which includes Southwest. The configuration requires the administrator to specify the carrier code WN in order to apply the fee to SDA-sourced Southwest flights. See Adding or Changing Agency Settings for instructions, and Ancillary Sources of Travel Search Results for details about Southwest.

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Up to eight passengers may be booked on one reservation.

Rapid Rewards

Does the service support passing the travelers

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Rapid Reward number to Southwest?

Yes, rapid reward Rapid Reward numbers are passed through and Southwest validates at the time the trip is placed on hold and/or purchased.

What happens if the

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Rapid Reward number is incorrect?

If the rapid reward Rapid Reward number is incorrect or the traveler name does not match what is on the account, the traveler will be alerted on the Trip Confirmation page that the number was not passed through and to contact the airline directly to have it added.

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Travelers will receive bonus points as part of rapid rewards Rapid Rewards promotions that do not have a restriction to online only bookings. Travelers will not receive bonus points for promotions that require booking online either through Southwest.com or the SWABIZ portal.

Change Trip

Are travelers allowed to change their destination as part of a change flow involving an SDA originated booking?

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No, once the trip has commenced, the traveler must contact Southwest directly at 1-800-I-FLY-SWA (1-800-435-9792) to change the return flight.

Passenger Name Record (PNR) Documentation

Does the system support custom PNR edit strings for entering passive flight segments in the agency GDS?

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It is possible other string changes will be needed. If you are not sure, enter a support ticket. To learn about customizing the PNR, see Customizing the Passenger Name Record.

Auto Check-in Feature

To read about the Auto Check-in Featurefeature, see FAQ for Deem Check-in Service Change.

Reporting

Are Southwest Direct Access bookings reported?

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