When I lived in Austin during college, Southwest Airlines was my go to airline for quick weekend trips back home to Dallas. I knew the system well and was always one of the first to arrive at the airport to get a low number boarding pass (pre-checkin days!). Those college days have long since passed and since Southwest Airlines is not included on most airline search engine websites, it is often overlooked as an option and as such has dropped to the bottom of my most used airlines.
Somewhere in my mind I knew that Southwest had begun flying internationally, but I still never sought them out as an option. That is until my recent trip to Costa Rica. For years I have had Costa Rica on my wish list, but my searches for flights from LAX to San Jose (the capital) resulted in expensive, multi-stop flights. Since having a child, I try to avoid multi-stop flights as much as possible to reduce the headaches of missed flights or weather delays.
I took the plunge and tried out Southwest Airlines for our trip to Costa Rica. I have to say that I will now be on the lookout for their sale fares as well as keeping up with any new international destinations they add to their flight plans!
If you are new to Southwest Airlines, there are some things you should know in advance before booking one of their international (or domestic!) flights.