Google Flights is a useful tool to use to find flights. They let you compare airlines and flights to find the best prices. You can also use their explore feature to find the cheapest destinations from the airport or city you are flying out of.
However, not all airlines are on Google Flights, which is one of its few downsides. So which airlines are not on Google Flights?
The following airlines are not on Google Flights:
| Southwest Airlines | Thai Airways |
| Philippine Airlines | Air China |
| China Eastern |
So, unless you frequently search for flights within Asia, Southwest is the only airline you are missing from a Google Flights search.
Southwest flies within the continental US, Hawaii, Mexico, Costa Rica, and the Caribbean. So, if you are flying to any of these destinations, you might want to check Google Flights and Southwest separately for the best prices.
This article explains why Southwest and a few other airlines are not on Google Flights and how you can book flights with the airlines that are not on Google Flights. Then, there are a few other airlines and websites where you will not find certain airlines.
Why Is Southwest Not on Google Flights?
Southwest and these other airlines are not on Google Flights because the airline restricts what websites can show their prices.
The airlines get to choose what third-party websites can show their flights, and Southwest has always blocked these sites from doing so. Some third-party sites include Google Flights, Skyscanner, Expedia, Hopper, and Priceline. You will not see Southwest flights on any of these websites.
Southwest’s terms and conditions state that other websites are not allowed to do the following:
“Use any deep-link, page-scrape, robot, crawl, index, spider, click spam, macro programs, Internet agent, or other automatic device, program, algorithm or methodology which does the same things, to use, access, copy, acquire information, generate impressions or clicks, input information, store information, search, generate searches, or monitor any portion of the Service or Company information“
In simpler terms, this part of their terms is what prohibits Google Flights and other websites from showing their prices and flights in their flight searches.
Southwest and other airlines do not want to sell their tickets through other websites, just on their own, which is why they prohibit this. If they can limit ticket sales to their own websites, they can market their other products like credit cards and try to sell add-ons like bags and seat upgrades.
But, just because you cannot find the prices for Southwest flights on Google Flights does not mean you cannot see the flight at all. You will still see the Southwest flights available for your search, but it will not show a price.
For example, see this roundtrip flight from LAX to Maui, Hawaii. You can see the flight times and airline, which is Southwest, on Google Flights, but you cannot see the price. To see the price, you must go to Southwest’s website.
How to Book Flights for Airlines Not on Google Flights
The best way to book flights for airlines you cannot find on Google Flights is through their website.
While it may seem like more work to go to individual airlines’ websites to book, you may be missing out on cheaper and better flights if you don’t. And you can still use Google Flights for most airlines, then do a separate search for Southwest.
You can search for your dates on Google Flights and see if airlines pop up without prices, then go to their website from there. Or, you can do your flight search directly on the airlines’ websites that do not show up on Google Flights.
But, just because you have to go to the airline’s website does not mean you cannot easily find the cheapest fares and dates.
For example, Southwest has its own Low Fare Calendar. So, you can still search your departure and destination airports, then choose dates based on the lowest fares. You can search by the month you want to depart and return, or just search for one-way flights.
You can also use a cheap flight alert service like Scott’s Cheap Flights, which sends you deals for all the best airlines, including Southwest. When you get an alert from their website, they will include the link directly to Southwest’s website, making it easy to see your flight and price options.
Other Flight Search Engines With Limited Airlines
Southwest does not allow third-party websites, including Google Flights, to show and sell their airfare. But, there are a lot of other websites that are also limited in what airlines they can show flight prices for.
Here are some of the most popular, on which you will not see Southwest flights, among others.
| CheapOair | Kayak |
| Expedia | Orbitz |
| Google Flights | Priceline |
| Hipmunk | Skyscanner |
| Hopper | Travelocity |
| JustFly | TripAdvisor Flights |
If you use any of these websites to search for or book your airfare, you will have to search for at least Southwest flights separately. And, if you do not see any flights for Delta, Sun Country, or Allegiant, you should check their websites too in case they are also excluded from the search.
JetBlue removed their prices and flight information from many online travel websites too, but none of the more popular sites listed above were included.
Google Flights is your best option among these since they are not making a commission off of the flights they show you, and they have Delta, Sun Country, and Allegiant. So, if you are looking for flights, you can limit your search to Google Flights and the Southwest Airlines website.
