Travel: Southwest Direct Connect Travel Service Guide

Travel: Southwest Direct

Connect

Travel Service Guide

Last Revised: December 18, 2020

Applies to Concur Travel:

 Professional/Premium edition

 TMC Partners

 Direct Customers

 Standard edition

 TMC Partners

 Direct Customers

Travel: Southwest Direct Connect Travel Service Guide  i 
Last Revised: December 18, 2020 
© 2004 - 2024 SAP Concur All rights reserved. 
Contents 
Southwest Direct Connect ............................................................................................1 
Section 1: IMPORTANT – About this Guide ...................................................................1 
Section 2: Overview......................................................................................................1 
Professional Travel vs Standard Travel ...................................................................... 1 
Benefits ................................................................................................................ 1 
Section 3: End-User Experience ....................................................................................2 
User Profile Requirements ....................................................................................... 2 
Names – Special Characters ................................................................................. 2 
Phone Numbers .................................................................................................. 2 
Credit Cards - International.................................................................................. 3 
Credit Cards – US or Canada ................................................................................ 3 
TSA................................................................................................................... 3 
Rapid Rewards ................................................................................................... 3 
Search .................................................................................................................. 4 
Search Results – Shop by Schedule Tab................................................................. 4 
Search Results – Shop by Fares Tab ...................................................................... 7 
Form of Payment / Ticket Credits ............................................................................. 8 
About Ticket Credits ............................................................................................ 8 
Review and Reserve Page .................................................................................... 9 
Adding Ticket Credits .......................................................................................... 9 
Ticket Credit Name Match .................................................................................. 10 
Application of Credit .......................................................................................... 10 
Allow Suppression of Unused Tickets – Professional Travel vs Standard Travel.......... 11 
EarlyBird Check-In – After Booking ......................................................................... 11 
Professional Travel vs Standard Travel ................................................................ 11 
Overview ......................................................................................................... 11 
Purchase After Booking...................................................................................... 12 
Additional Notes ............................................................................................... 13 
Trip Cancel .......................................................................................................... 14 
Trip Cancel Settings .......................................................................................... 14 
Pre- and Post-Ticket Change .................................................................................. 15 
Professional Travel vs Standard Travel ................................................................ 15 
Overview ......................................................................................................... 15 
IMPORTANT! Current Limitation – Passive Segments ............................................. 16 
Section 4: Reporting ................................................................................................... 17 
Section 5: Configuration ............................................................................................. 18 
Part 1: Professional and Standard Travel – Southwest Account Number ...................... 18 
Part 2: Professional Travel – Configuration in Concur Travel....................................... 18 
Travel Configuration .......................................................................................... 18 
Email Notification .............................................................................................. 21 
Sample Rules ................................................................................................... 21 

ii  Travel: Southwest Direct Connect Travel Service Guide 
  Last Revised: December 18, 2020 
  © 2004 - 2024 SAP Concur All rights reserved. 
Part 2: Standard Travel – Configuration in Concur Travel .......................................... 22 
Travel Configuration .......................................................................................... 22 
Part 3: Professional and Standard Travel – Additional Tasks or Information ................. 23 
GDS Passive Segments ...................................................................................... 23 
GDS Stored Fare ............................................................................................... 23 
GDS Standard Remarks ..................................................................................... 24 
File Finishing .................................................................................................... 25 
Fare Calculation Line ......................................................................................... 26 
Finishing Template Editor ................................................................................... 26 
Apply Credit Data Points .................................................................................... 27 
XML Data Points ............................................................................................... 29 
Finishing Data Points for Pre- and Post-Ticket Exchange ............................................ 30 
Section 6: Production Test Process ............................................................................. 31 
Section 7: FAQ ............................................................................................................ 32 
The Basics ........................................................................................................... 32 
Current Limitations ............................................................................................... 33 
Questions ............................................................................................................ 33 
 
 

Travel: Southwest Direct Connect Travel Service Guide iii

Last Revised: December 18, 2020

Revision History

Date

Revision Notes/Comments

July 25, 2023

Updated Overview section with note on SAP Concur UI themes; no other

changes

January 14, 2022

Updated the copyright year; no other changes; cover date not updated

April 14, 2021

Updated the copyright year; no other changes; cover date not updated

December 18, 2020

Updated FAQ to add Current Limitations section, with single item re: Concur

Travel Template

December 16, 2020

Updated comment for Trip Changes via Concur Travel under FAQ: The Basics

section

June 25, 2020

Added refundability bullet to Pre-and Post-Ticket Change > Overview section

February 25, 2020

Updated information about Override Email Address check box to Email

Notification section

January 20, 2020

Added information about SWDC bookings failing to write to agency when

booked over six months in advance

September 9, 2019

Added information about International Credit Cards in the What the User Sees

section

July 29, 2019

Updated note about Override Email Address check box to Email Notification

section

July 17, 2019

Updated note about Override Email Address check box to Email Notification

section

July 10, 2019

Updated information about Override Email Address check box to Email

Notification section

July 8, 2019

Added information about Override Email Address check box to Email

Notification section

July 3, 2019

Added information about multi-trip changes under the Pre and Post Ticket

Change Overview section

June 20, 2019

Removed "Concur" from the cover; no other changes; cover date not updated

May 22, 2019

Added information about multi-trip changes under the Pre and Post Ticket

Change Overview section

May 21, 2019

Added information about Dual Fare Display under the Overview section

March 10, 2019

Updated the copyright; no other changes; cover date not updated

January 29, 2019

Added a note about Southwest credit card expiration dates

November 16, 2018

Removed retired Travel reports

October 23, 2018

EarlyBird is no longer available during booking

May 24, 2018

Clarified EarlyBird Check-In information

January 2, 2018

Updated the copyright; no other changes; cover date not updated

Travel: Southwest Direct Connect Travel Service Guide 1

Last Revised: December 18, 2020

Southwest Direct Connect

Section 1: IMPORTANT – About this Guide

Be aware of the following:

• Infinite variables: Certain scenarios have an infinite number of variables or

extremely unusual circumstances, like rare cancellation or refund situations.

So, not all scenarios can be presented in this guide. Also, certain processes

may be influenced by third- or fourth-party providers. In some cases, you

must contact the provider directly.

• User interface, fees, rates, schedules: When other providers change their

user interface (for example, web site) or their fees/rates/schedules, they are

under no obligation to make SAP Concur aware of those changes. If a screen

sample in this guide is outdated because of a change made by a provider, we

will update that screen sample when we become aware of the change and at

our earliest convenience.

• Permissions: A company's admin may or may not have the correct

permissions to manage the feature described in this guide. If an admin needs

to manage this feature and does not have the proper permissions, they

should contact the company's SAP Concur administrator.

Also, the admin should be aware that some of the tasks described in this

guide cannot be completed by the company. In this case, the client must

contact their TMC (if a TMC provides their support) or SAP Concur (if SAP

Concur provides their support).

Section 2: Overview

NOTE: Multiple SAP Concur product versions and UI themes are available, so this

content might contain images or procedures that do not precisely match your

implementation. For example, when SAP Fiori UI themes are implemented, home

page navigation is consolidated under the SAP Concur Home menu.

This feature provides online booking with direct access to Southwest Airlines content.

Professional Travel vs Standard Travel

The features described in this guide apply to both Professional Travel and Standard

Travel unless otherwise noted.

Benefits

The Southwest Direct Connect supports a wide variety of features and functionality,

previously only available through the Southwest booking site. Some features include:

2 Travel: Southwest Direct Connect Travel Service Guide

Last Revised: December 18, 2020

• Integrated display with enhanced functionality, such as live availability and

last-seat inventory

• Support for all pricing rules, fare rules, and return of ticket number

• Support for low-fare searches that return the lowest fares available

• Booking and ticketing that supports the Rapid Rewards member number

• A wide range of additional functional benefits, including deferred ticketing,

cancel reservation, and retrieve reservation

• Ability to place trips on hold

• Multi-segment and open-jaw trips

• Application of policy and allows trip approval

• Display Southwest side-by-side with other airlines

• Application of existing credits toward new trip

• Passage of Southwest Account Number

• Domestic and international flights are available

NOTE: Both Southwest and Travelfusion Direct Connects can offer multiple fares for

a given flight. If a Dual Fare Display is enabled (and Sabre is the primary

GDS) then Southwest and Travelfusion content will be displayed in the Dual

Fare Display UI.

Section 3: End-User Experience

User Profile Requirements

Names – Special Characters

If a traveler's name includes a special character, the special character will either be

replaced if it is an apostrophe or converted if there is something similar in the

English language. For example, a traveler with the name William O'Never is sent to

Southwest as William O Never. An example of a conversion would be a traveler with

the name William Müller is converted to William Mueller by the service.

NOTE: If names with special characters do not match the names of Rapid Rewards

accounts, Southwest may not apply rewards to the proper account.

Phone Numbers

Concur Travel sends only one phone number to Southwest.

• If there is a business phone in the profile, Travel sends that.

• If the business phone is blank, Travel sends the home phone.

Travel: Southwest Direct Connect Travel Service Guide 3

Last Revised: December 18, 2020

Credit Cards - International

When using an international credit card, the Zip Code field for the credit card billing

address is no longer required unless the country indicated is the US (US) or Canada

(CA).

Credit Cards – US or Canada

Southwest accepts 5-, 9- (US; numeric) zip codes, and 6- (Canada; alphanumeric)

character postal codes in the credit card billing address. If the postal code is not

entered correctly, the user will receive an error message that they must correct the

postal code or choose another credit card.

If the credit card has an address (for example, a personal card), the postal code has

to be either 5 or 9 using either letters or numbers ignoring dashes; 55555, 55555-

1234, and 555551234 are all accepted.

NOTE: If the card does not have an address, we send the company address, and

then the postal code has to be 5 or 9 numbers with no dashes.

IMPORTANT – EXPIRATION DATES

When a user books Southwest Direct Connect in the same month in which their

credit card expires, the booking fails with a declined form of payment.

Southwest defines the expiration date as the first day of the expiration month –

instead of the last day. This is a limitation of Southwest Airlines.

SAP Concur sends the expiration date as it reads in SAP Concur, which is month/

year. Southwest assumes the expiration date to be the first day of the month and

instead of the last day.

TSA

Gender and date of birth is required in the TSA section of the traveler's profile.

Optional fields, such as DHS Redress and Known Traveler Number, is passed to

Southwest.

Rapid Rewards

The Southwest Rapid Rewards numbers must comply with:

• The Rapid Rewards number cannot be longer than 14 characters.

• The Rapid Rewards number must contain digits only (no alpha-characters).

4 Travel: Southwest Direct Connect Travel Service Guide

Last Revised: December 18, 2020

The user enters the flight information in the Travel Wizard as usual and clicks

Search.

NOTE: The Southwest Direct Connect does not support multi-passenger bookings.

Search Results – Shop by Schedule Tab

The Southwest Direct Connect displays the different fare options available once the

segments have been chosen and priced.

Travel: Southwest Direct Connect Travel Service Guide 5

Last Revised: December 18, 2020

6 Travel: Southwest Direct Connect Travel Service Guide

Last Revised: December 18, 2020

Travel: Southwest Direct Connect Travel Service Guide 7

Last Revised: December 18, 2020

Search Results – Shop by Fares Tab

The Southwest Direct Connect displays fares as if the View More Airfares feature is

enabled, regardless of whether that option is activated in the travel configuration.

This means that all Southwest content pulled from the direct connect shows the

different fare classes available.

Note the following – Professional Travel vs Standard Travel:

• For Professional Travel, if the direct connect is set up to search the direct

connect and the GDS, only the lowest rate is displayed.

• For Standard Travel, if Southwest Direct Connect is enabled, GDS results are

not returned.

8 Travel: Southwest Direct Connect Travel Service Guide

Last Revised: December 18, 2020

If the user elects to view the fare rules, the content is accessed directly from

Southwest:

Form of Payment / Ticket Credits

About Ticket Credits

Ticket credits are obtained from previously canceled reservations with Southwest

Airlines. Note the following:

• Applying a credit is only available for sites accessing content solely from the

Southwest Direct Connect and not from both the GDS and direct connect.

Ticket credit is not supported through the GDS.

• Up to two credits may be applied to a new itinerary.

• The full name on the credit(s) must match the user's name for which the

credit is being applied (first, middle, and last).

• Guest travel cancellations that result in a credit are added in the name of the

person who made the guest travel booking.

Travel: Southwest Direct Connect Travel Service Guide 9

Last Revised: December 18, 2020

Review and Reserve Page

On the Review and Reserve page, the user selects the desired credit card and may

also be able to use a ticket credit.

Adding Ticket Credits

Users can add a credit that was obtained offline by clicking the Add ticket credit

link:

This will be necessary to import and apply a credit for a booking ticketed or cancelled

outside of Concur Travel.

10 Travel: Southwest Direct Connect Travel Service Guide

Last Revised: December 18, 2020

While only the Southwest Record Locator field is required, completing the Cancel

Date and Ticket Amount fields are ideal to include when adding a ticket. The

traveler will be alerted when the credit is going to expire if they add the cancellation

date and the amount helps calculate the exchange.

Ticket Credit Name Match

If the name in the Concur Travel profile does not match the full name (first, middle,

and last) of the credit on file, then Southwest does not apply the credit. The

reservation is not stopped because of a name mismatch and no error message

displays. This will allow the user to complete the booking regardless of whether the

credit is applicable.

Application of Credit

The Southwest Direct Connect allows a maximum of two ticket credits as form of

payment per reservation. If a user selects more than two ticket credits, Concur

Travel provides an error message for the user.

The itinerary shown to the user displays the actual ticket price, not the fare after the

credit is applied. The fare stored is also the face value of the ticket and not the

add/collect amount. This data is available via data points in the finisher:

Travel: Southwest Direct Connect Travel Service Guide 11

Last Revised: December 18, 2020

Once the exchange is processed, the ticket number and the ticket credits used as

"form of payment" appear:

In the event that a user applies an existing credit, Travel does not know the ticket

number, only the confirmation number.

Allow Suppression of Unused Tickets – Professional Travel vs Standard

Travel

Note the following:

• For Professional Travel, admins are allowed to enable or disable ticket credits,

as described in the configuration information in this guide.

• For Standard Travel, ticket credits are automatically enabled.

EarlyBird Check-In – After Booking

Professional Travel vs Standard Travel

Note the following:

• For Professional Travel, EarlyBird Check-In is disabled by default but can be

enabled as described in the configuration information in this guide.

• For Standard Travel, EarlyBird Check-In is automatically enabled.

Overview

EarlyBird Check-In

is a low-cost option giving the traveler the convenience of

automatic check-in before the traditional 24-hour check-in. The traveler will have the

benefit of an early assigned boarding position, allowing the traveler to board earlier.

As an EarlyBird Check-In customer, the traveler will have a better opportunity to

select a preferred seat and have earlier access to overhead bin storage for carryon

luggage. The affordable option automatically reserves for the traveler the next best

boarding position then available.

12 Travel: Southwest Direct Connect Travel Service Guide

Last Revised: December 18, 2020

Purchase After Booking

To ensure proper pricing, EarlyBird Check-In is not purchased during the booking but

is available for purchase after booking. After the user books the trip, a message

appears on the itinerary page, reminding the user to go to the Travel home page to

make the EarlyBird purchase.

The user goes to the Travel home page and opens the trip (itinerary). The user will

see the exact price of EarlyBird Check-In and can purchase the service.

Travel: Southwest Direct Connect Travel Service Guide 13

Last Revised: December 18, 2020

Additional Notes

• This feature is available only for trips booked via the Southwest Direct

Connect in Concur Travel. It is not available for trips booked via the GDS,

imported from the TMC, or via TripLink.

• If a traveler is an "A-List" member, EarlyBird Check-In will not appear since

A-List members automatically are checked-in due to their status.

• There are no e-receipts for the EarlyBird purchases.

• EarlyBird Check-In is not yet available via the SAP Concur mobile app but will

come with a future release.

• EarlyBird Check-In is not supported for multi-passenger bookings.

• No additional PNR Finishing options have been added.

• If the user changes their flights, Southwest will attempt to transfer the

EarlyBird Check-In.

• Currently, EarlyBird Check-In is not supported for international flights through

Southwest Direct Connect.

• EarlyBird Check-in payment must come from the user’s profile. Ghost cards

are not a valid payment method for EarlyBird Check-in.

• For more details, go to:

http://www.southwest.com/html/generated/help/faqs/earlybird_checkin_faq.

html

14 Travel: Southwest Direct Connect Travel Service Guide

Last Revised: December 18, 2020

Trip Cancel

For Southwest Direct Connect, the user cancels a trip as usual. The ticket is

automatically refunded, and the traveler is alerted:

• If a ticketed itinerary is cancelled within 24 hours of issuance

• If the fare is refundable and cancelled after the 24-hour period

A trip cancelled after 24 hours that is a non-refundable fare creates a trip credit to

be used toward the purchase of a new ticket.

NOTE: A traveler cannot cancel a flight if they have already checked-in to the flight

or if the first leg of the flight is set to depart within 30 minutes or if the flight

has already departed. A traveler cannot cancel a flight if the trip is already in

progress. A PNR must be canceled on Southwest will need to be contacted.

Trip Cancel Settings

All on hold trips are eligible for cancel in Concur Travel. These PNRs queue to the

Cancel Queue. Trips with non-GDS hotels booked by Concur Travel are eligible for

cancel during the initial booking if Travel has not queued to the agency for

fulfillment.

"Passive Content" means air, car, or hotel content that is represented by a passive

segment in the PNR and Concur does not know how to go to the original source to

cancel the reservation. For example, the Southwest Direct Connect is treated as live

space in Concur Travel and would have similar handling to live GDS booked air. This

is because we can cancel directly with the source.

In order to use any options other than Do not allow traveler to cancel, admins

must define a refund request queue in the agency configuration. If the admin cannot

select the other options, it means that the agency has not defined a refund request

queue.

Travel: Southwest Direct Connect Travel Service Guide 15

Last Revised: December 18, 2020

Pre- and Post-Ticket Change

Professional Travel vs Standard Travel

Note the following:

• For Professional Travel, pre- and post-ticket change is configurable as

described in the configuration section of this guide.

• For Standard Travel, both options are automatically enabled.

Overview

Concur Travel supports true pre- and post-ticket change for the Southwest Direct

Connect.

Note the following:

• The user can choose to change as many legs as they want. It is possible to

change the destinations as well as the dates.

• If a refundable fare is exchanged to a refundable fare, the exchange becomes

non-refundable.

• A traveler cannot change a flight in Concur Travel if they have already

checked-in to the flight or if the first leg of the flight is set to depart within 30

minutes. Mid-trip changes are supported.

• EarlyBird Check-In is not the same as a traveler checking in to a flight,

according to Southwest. A traveler who has EarlyBird Check-In must still

check-in to a flight to print the boarding pass.

• Fees:

 Southwest Airlines does not charge an exchange fee.

 The standard post-ticket change fee from Concur Travel will apply for all

Southwest Direct Connect changes. This is part of the monthly billing fees

and will not be shown to the user but, instead, billed to the customer at

the end of the month.

• Users can exchange for the lowest fare available in the same or higher class

of service. For example, if the original booking was made as a Wanna Get

Away fare and, at the time of exchange, no Wanna Get Away fares are

available (either sold out or changed within advance purchase restrictions),

the user will be allowed to exchange for the lowest available fare (Anytime or

Business Select) regardless of class of service.

 The user will not be allowed to select a specific brand; the lowest available

fare will be selected automatically, and any fare difference will be

presented to the user to accept.

 The ability for users to select a specific brand at the time of exchange is

under consideration for a future release.

16 Travel: Southwest Direct Connect Travel Service Guide

Last Revised: December 18, 2020

• All Southwest Direct Connect exchanged reservations go to the exchange

queue, this queue must be enabled in the agency configuration. When this

queue is not set up for post-ticket changes, the trip status will show "error

sending to agency."

The user takes the usual steps to complete a pre- and post-ticket change.

• In case of a refund, two scenarios are possible:

 Southwest refunds the appropriate amount on the credit card used as the

original form of payment.

 In case the original fare is not refundable, Southwest will not refund the

amount onto the credit card but will save the value in the form of a ticket

credit. Concur Travel automatically saves this ticket credit in the user's

profile.

• If additional charges are required, the original form of payment is used.

• The refundability of the originally purchased fare determines which scenario

applies; the Southwest reservation system is configured to detect and apply

applicable refundability rules.

NOTE: Pre- and post-ticket changes for Southwest are completely independent of

pre- and post-ticket changes for the GDS.

IMPORTANT! Current Limitation – Passive Segments

Passive segments:

• For all GDSs except Amadeus, we allow Southwest Direct Connect ticket

change with passive segments.

• For all GDS except Sabre, it is possible to use the Southwest Direct Connect

ticket exchange feature only if passive segments are disabled.

ALL GDSS EXCEPT AMADEUS AND SABRE

If passive segments are enabled, the following actions occur after an exchange:

• We cancel the old passive segments.

• We create new passive segments based on the updated segments.

• We delete the old manual stored fare and add a new one based on the new

itinerary.

NOTE: We do not store the add/collect amount but rather the new fare amount. The

add/collect data can be added to the PNR via file finishing.

In case any of the three above actions fail, Concur Travel will send an error email to

the configured agency emergency email address. An example email is shown below.

This will include the GDS record locator, the Southwest record locator, as well as the

new flight details and cost.

Travel: Southwest Direct Connect Travel Service Guide 17

Last Revised: December 18, 2020

AMADEUS

If you or your customer are interested in disabling passive segments for the

Southwest Direct Connect, please contact your TMC or Concur Travel directly for

more details. While the removal of the passive segment is required to support post-

ticket change, it can make it difficult for the TMC to service, invoice, or report on the

reservation. Concur Travel recommends a discussion between all parties before

moving forward with this feature.

If the administrator attempts to enable ticket change and they have not disabled

passive segments, a message appears.

SABRE

Southwest Direct Connect bookings will fail to write to the agency when booked over

six months in advance; this is a limitation of Sabre functionality.

Although the Southwest vendor allows purchase of flight dates 8-9 months in

advance, the Sabre GDS only loads Southwest flight information up to 180 days

(six months). Bookings made on Southwest Direct Connect for dates over 180 days

in advance will fail to write the passive segments required to create the booking in

the GDS.

Section 4: Reporting

There are reports available relating to Southwest Direct Connect, including:

• Flight Detail

• Southwest Credit Monitoring

 Refer to the Travel Reporting User Guide, which is available on the SAP

Concur support portal or in Travel Administration online help.

18 Travel: Southwest Direct Connect Travel Service Guide

Last Revised: December 18, 2020

Section 5: Configuration

The following steps are required to enable Southwest Direct Connect in Concur

Travel. Note that some of the steps on the following pages apply to Professional

Edition, some to Standard Edition, and some to both.

• Part 1: Professional and Standard Travel – Southwest Account Number

• Part 2: Professional Travel – Configuration in Concur Travel

– or –

Part 2: Standard Travel – Configuration in Concur Travel

• Part 3: Professional and Standard Travel – Additional Tasks or Information

Part 1: Professional and Standard Travel – Southwest Account Number

Each company – no matter what size, the only requirement is they have at least two

travelers – must obtain a Southwest Account Number.

To do so, use the online process here: https://www.swabiz.com/swabiz/self-enroll

The goal at Southwest is to complete enrollment within 24 hours from the time you

apply for the Southwest account number.

Part 2: Professional Travel – Configuration in Concur Travel

Travel Configuration

 To enable:

1. Click Administration > Travel (on the sub-menu) > Travel System Admin

and access the desired client travel configuration.

NOTE: Depending on your permissions, the page may appear immediately

after you click Administration or Travel.

Travel: Southwest Direct Connect Travel Service Guide 19

Last Revised: December 18, 2020

2. In the Air Connectors section of the travel configuration page, locate

Southwest Airlines.

3. To enable:

Field

Description / Action

Enable

Select to enable.

Account Number

You cannot type directly into the field. Click Edit. The following

box appears.

1. Enter the code/number.

2. Click Submit. The number/code appears in the Discount

Code field.

Company Short

Name

Enter the company name by which Southwest will recognize

your company.

• This field is required if Southwest Direct Connect is

enabled.

• The Company Short Name field is restricted to numbers,

letters, and the space character and cannot be blank.

• Later, when you create or view a new travel configuration

page, the Company Short Name field pre-populates with

this company name.

Override Email

Address

If the Override Email Address check box is selected, fulfillment

emails such as billing confirmations/receipts will be sent to the

override email. Traveler notifications such as schedule change,

flight delays and cancellations will be sent to the Traveler email

only, not to the TMC. If unchecked, ALL emails will be delivered

to the Traveler email.

20 Travel: Southwest Direct Connect Travel Service Guide

Last Revised: December 18, 2020

Field

Description / Action

Allow pre-

ticketing flight

changes

Allow post-

ticketing flight

changes

Select (enable) these check boxes to allow the user to make

pre- and post-ticketing changes in Concur Travel.

NOTE: Pre- and post-ticket changes for Southwest Direct

Connect are completely independent of pre- and post-ticket

changes for the GDS. These are determined under the System

Settings section of the travel configuration page.

For Sabre, Apollo/Galileo, and Worldspan:

If passive segments are enabled, the following actions occur

after an exchange:

• We cancel the old passive segments.

• We create new passive segments based on the updated

segments.

• We delete the old manual stored fare and add a new one

based on the new itinerary.

NOTE: Remember to scroll down to the GDS PNR Options

section. Make sure you have the boxes selected to create a GDS

PNR and write a passive segment. Indicate that you have the

Southwest dropdown configured to use the default above or

always write passive segments.

For other GDSs:

The ability to enable pre- and post-ticket change for the

Southwest Direct Connect is limited to those customers not

writing passive segments to the GDS. You must have passive

segments disabled in order to use this feature today.

If you or your customer is interested in disabling passive

segments for the Southwest Direct Connect, please contact your

TMC or Concur Travel directly for more details. While the

removal of the passive segment is required to support post-

ticket change, it can make it difficult for the TMC to service,

invoice, or report on the reservation. Concur Travel

recommends a discussion between all parties before moving

forward with this feature.

Concur Travel will support ticket change for Southwest using

passive segments with a future release.

Search both the

primary GDS and

the Southwest

direct connect

Cost savings

threshold

Flights from Southwest Direct Connect will be shown to the user

instead of flights from Sabre or Apollo only if they are less

expensive by at least the amount entered in the Cost savings

threshold field.

To use:

• Select (enable) the Search both the primary GDS and

the Southwest direct connect check box to enable the

feature.

• Enter an amount in the Cost savings threshold field.

 If the field is blank, a value of $0.00 is assumed.

 This field will accept both 10 and 10.00 formats.

Travel: Southwest Direct Connect Travel Service Guide 21

Last Revised: December 18, 2020

Field

Description / Action

Disable Ticket

Credits

Select (enable) this check box to disable credits. If selected,

ticket credits do not appear during booking nor in the user's

Travel profile.

Allow Early Bird

Check-in

Select (enable) this check box to allow your travelers to check-

in earlier than the normal 24 hours, for a fee. If enabled,

EarlyBird Check-In is available for purchase any time the

user/arranger views the itinerary in Concur Travel after the

ticket has been purchased.

NOTE: This feature is available only for trips booked via the

Southwest Direct Connect in Concur Travel. It is not available

for trips booked via the GDS, imported from the TMC, or via

TripLink.

Email Notification

You can configure email notification as well using the DC Configuration section of

the travel configuration page.

 Refer to the Travel System Admin User Guide, which is available on the SAP

Concur support portal or in Travel Administration online help.

Sample Rules

Sample rules to use with Southwest Direct Connect are:

• Hide a bucket by choosing "Hide Results" instead of "Require Approval"

• Hide "Business Select" fares by choosing Fare Class = K

• Hide "Anytime" fares by choosing Fare Class = Y

• Hide "Wanna Get Away" fares by choosing Fare Class Not Y or K

• Hide fares from the primary GDS by adding an extra condition for "Fare is

from the Reservation System"

• Hide fares from the Southwest Direct Connect by adding an extra condition

for "Fare is not from the Reservation System"

22 Travel: Southwest Direct Connect Travel Service Guide

Last Revised: December 18, 2020

Part 2: Standard Travel – Configuration in Concur Travel

Travel Configuration

 To enable:

1. In the Travel Setup Wizard, click the Discounts and Travel Content setup

step.

2. Select the desired configuration.

3. Click the Direct Connect tab.

4. To enable:

Field

Description / Action

Enable

Select to enable.

Account Number

You cannot type directly into the field. Click Edit. The following

box appears.

1. Enter the code/number.

2. Click Submit. The number/code appears in the Discount

Code field.

Travel: Southwest Direct Connect Travel Service Guide 23

Last Revised: December 18, 2020

Field

Description / Action

Company Short

Name

Enter the company name by which Southwest will recognize

your company.

• This field is required if Southwest Direct Connect is

enabled.

• The Company Short Name field is restricted to numbers,

letters, and the space character and cannot be blank.

• Later, when you create or view a new travel configuration

page, the Company Short Name field pre-populates with

this company name.

Override Email

Address

If the Override Email Address check box is selected,

fulfillment emails such as billing confirmations/receipts will be

sent to the override email. Traveler notifications such as

schedule change, flight delays and cancellations will be sent to

the Traveler email only, not to the TMC. If unchecked, ALL

emails will be delivered to the Traveler email.

Related option(s) are hidden, set by default, and cannot be changed:

Field

Description/Action

Allow pre-ticketing flight changes

Allow post-ticketing flight changes

Search both the primary GDS and the

Southwest direct connect

Cost savings threshold

OFF

Disable Ticket Credits

OFF (which means Ticket Credits are

available by default)

Allow Early Bird Check-in

Part 3: Professional and Standard Travel – Additional Tasks or

Information

GDS Passive Segments

 Refer to the Passive Segments Fact Sheet, which is available on the SAP

Concur support portal or in Travel Administration online help.

GDS Stored Fare

SABRE STORED FARE:

*PQ«

PRICE QUOTE RECORD - DETAILS

PQ 1 M-TOTAL 185.20USD. BASE 152.56USD. TAXES 32.64USD

24 Travel: Southwest Direct Connect Travel Service Guide

Last Revised: December 18, 2020

APOLLO STORED FARE:

ATFQ-OK/P

FM-USD 299.40/USD 299.40 - PRICING RECORD –

WORLDSPAN STORED FARE:

BWFS

4.CB FARE USD115.35/TAX USD27.05/TTL USD142.40

AMADEUS STORED FARE:

Amadeus does not store fares.

GDS Standard Remarks

SABRE STANDARD REMARKS (P5H):

13.H-CB/ALT/CONCUR PREMIERMULTI GDS BOOKING

14.H-CB/ALT/FLIGHT CHANGES MUST BE MADE ON SOUTHWEST TO PNR ABCDEF

APOLLO STANDARD REMARKS (PRCB):

1 CB/ALT/CLIQBOOOK MULTI GDS BOOKING

2 CB/ALT/FLIGHT CHANGES MUST BE MADE ON SOUTHWEST TO PNR ABCDEF

WORLDSPAN STANDARD REMARKS (5-RM)

MZ- 1.CB/ALT/CONCUR PREMIERMULTI GDS BOOKING

2.CB CONCUR PREMIERALTERNATE SOURCE BOOKING

3.CB FLIGHT CHANGES MUST BE MADE ON SOUTHWEST/YI9 TO PNR ABCDEF

AMADEUS STANDARD REMARKS (RM):

14 RM CB/ALT/FLIGHT CHANGES MUST BE MADE

15 RM CB/ALT/ON SOUTHWEST TO PNR ABCDEF

Travel: Southwest Direct Connect Travel Service Guide 25

Last Revised: December 18, 2020

File Finishing

We have two data points in finishing for booking source:

• /AlternateSourceBookingDataArray/AlternateSourceBookingData/BookingSour

ce will be Southwest

• /AlternateSourceBookingDataArray/AlternateSourceBookingData/BookingSour

ceUpper* will be SOUTHWEST

NOTE: It is recommended that BookingSourceUpper be used when updating

finishing templates, due to a possible case-mismatch that can occur with the

non-uppercase BookingSource data point.

We also have the following data points available:

• Record locator

• Ticket number

• Base fare

• Taxes

• Total Amount

• TicketExchangeRecordLocator (PNR/Credit applied towards new itinerary)

• TicketExchangeRemainingCredit (amount left on the PNR/credit)

• TicketExchangeFund (amount deducted from the PNR/credit)

• FareBasisCode

26 Travel: Southwest Direct Connect Travel Service Guide

Last Revised: December 18, 2020

Fare Calculation Line

The fare calculation of a Southwest Direct Connect reservation is available through

finishing.

XML

XPATH

PNRFinishData/AlternateSourceBookingDataArray/AlternateSourceBookingData/Sourc

eSpecificBookingData/FareInfo/LinearFareConstructor

Finishing Template Editor

Travel: Southwest Direct Connect Travel Service Guide 27

Last Revised: December 18, 2020

Apply Credit Data Points

The finishing data points for Southwest Direct Connect credit application (credit on

file applied to a new itinerary) are here:

• AlternateSourceBookingDataArray/AlternateSourceBookingData/SourceSpecifi

cBookingData/FareInfo/TicketExchangeArray/TicketExchange

! IMPORTANT: Customers/Agencies writing this data to the PNR will need to

adjust their finishing templates to account for this:

To write data to the PNR via finishing for both credits, please use the following

Xpaths:

For the first ticket:

AlternateSourceBookingDataArray/AlternateSourceBookingData/SourceSpecifi

cBookingData/FareInfo/TicketExchangeArray/TicketExchange[1]/TicketExcha

ngeTicketNumber

For the second ticket:

AlternateSourceBookingDataArray/AlternateSourceBookingData/SourceSpecifi

cBookingData/FareInfo/TicketExchangeArray/TicketExchange[2]/TicketExcha

ngeTicketNumber

28 Travel: Southwest Direct Connect Travel Service Guide

Last Revised: December 18, 2020

Travel: Southwest Direct Connect Travel Service Guide 29

Last Revised: December 18, 2020

XML Data Points

In the case ticket credits are applied, you will see an additional node in the FareInfo

node:

<TicketExchangeTicketNumber></TicketE

xchangeTicketNumber>

30 Travel: Southwest Direct Connect Travel Service Guide

Last Revised: December 18, 2020

<TicketExchangeRemainingCredit

currency=""></TicketExchangeRemainingCredit>

</TicketExchange>

</TicketExchangeArray>

Finishing Data Points for Pre- and Post-Ticket Exchange

The data points are:

• Old record locator

• New record locator

• Old ticket Number

• New ticket Number

• Old Total Price

• New Total Price

• Price Difference (add collect amount – zero if refund occurs)

• Refund Amount (zero unless a refund occurs)

• Exchange Fee (will always be zero for Southwest)

Data endpoints in XML:

Travel: Southwest Direct Connect Travel Service Guide 31

Last Revised: December 18, 2020

</PreTicketExchange>

</PostTicketExchange>

</SourceSpecificBookingData>

</AlternateSourceBookingData>

Note the following:

• The PriceDifference node contains the add collect amount in case that the new

total price is higher than the old total price.

 If the new ticket is cheaper, the PriceDifference node will contain a value

of 0.00 and the RefundAmount node will contain the actual refunded

amount.

 If PriceDifference and RefundAmount are both 0.00, that means the old

and new total cost are the same.

• For pre-ticketing exchanges the PreTicketExchange data will be available in

Ticketing mode.

• For post-ticketing exchanges the PostTicketExchange data will be available in

"Trip change with Post-ticket air change" mode.

• In case the user triggers multiple pre-ticketing or post-ticketing exchanges,

only the data of the last exchange will be available. Since finishing runs each

time after a post-ticketing exchange, finishing has always access to the latest

change.

Section 6: Production Test Process

All agencies must use the Southwest account number 99761362 (registered to

Concur Travel) for testing purposes only or one of their corporate customers

Southwest account numbers.

A valid credit card is required, with billing address and a valid Southwest account

number.

All testing is done in a live environment.

32 Travel: Southwest Direct Connect Travel Service Guide

Last Revised: December 18, 2020

Administrators can book trips on hold and they will cancel automatically after 24

hours. Trips submitted for approval that are not approved will automatically cancel

within 24 hours. Ticketed itineraries (refundable and non-refundable) will be

refunded if cancelled within 24 hours of the ticket being issued, either in Concur

Travel or on the Southwest site.

Follow the normal procedure when reporting an issue, open a support ticket and

include test results, screen shots and logs for review.

Section 7: FAQ

The Basics

Topic

Comment

Integrated display with air:

Yes

CT Policy controlled:

Yes

Trips on Hold via Concur Travel:

The Southwest Direct Connect will allow trips to be

put on hold for 24 hours.

Trip Changes via Concur Travel:

See Pre and Post Ticket Change section under What

the User Sees for details

Trip Cancels via Concur Travel:

Yes, up until 30 minutes from departure of the

outbound leg as long as the traveler is not checked-

in to the flight. If the traveler is checked-in to the

flight, they must cancel the check-in on the

Southwest website.

CVV Required?

No. If the user who calls in for support is asked for

the CVV number, the user tells the Southwest agent

that "corporate bookings do not require a security

code" and the agent will move forward.

Delivery Options:

Online

Pre-Assigned Seating:

Credit Cards Accepted:

Yes; must have billing address included.

Multi-Segment Bookings:

Yes, up to 6 segments (legs with a connection count

as multiple segments)

Multi-passenger bookings

supported:

Loyalty Program generated via CT

profile:

Yes, the Rapid Rewards number will be passed to

Southwest. Note that the name must exactly match

between SAP Concur's profile and Southwest's

profile. There have been issues for customers who

have special characters in their names as SAP

Concur modifies special characters found in names.

Travel: Southwest Direct Connect Travel Service Guide 33

Last Revised: December 18, 2020

Topic

Comment

Ghost/BTA/Lodge Cards Accepted:

Yes, ghost cards are accepted, however, please note

that they are not a valid payment method for

EarlyBird Check-in. Payment must come from the

user’s profile.

GDS Supported for passive

segment:

All GDSs support passive segments.

TSA info generated to the airline:

Gender (required), birthdate (required), DHS

redress, and known traveler number are all passed

over to Southwest.

Access to flights available via

airline site:

Yes, through https://www.swabiz.com/flight/swabiz-

Select Access Fee:

Yes. When booking a Southwest itinerary on Concur

Travel, you will incur a select access fee. Fees are

billed according to the terms of your agreement on a

per-itinerary basis. Multi-segment trips are subject

to one select access fee. For detailed fee

information, contact your SAP Concur representative

or TMC or access it on the SAP Concur support

portal.

** Sabre Convenience Fee:

Yes

** Applicable to Sabre fulfillment only when passive segments are written

Current Limitations

Topic

Comment

Concur Travel Template

The Travel Template tool in Concur Travel supports

the General Search functionality for both GDS and

Southwest Direct Connect content sources, however,

the Search for these specific flights option is

limited to GDS content only.

Due to current limitations, Concur Travel will not

preselect the Southwest Direct Connect flight option

when searching Southwest Direct Connect sources.

The flight will, however, return as part of the GDS

content and can be selected manually.

Questions

Q. Are international Southwest flights supported in Southwest Direct Connect in

Concur Travel?

A. Yes. However, currently, EarlyBird Check-In is not supported for

international flights.

34 Travel: Southwest Direct Connect Travel Service Guide

Last Revised: December 18, 2020

Q. Can I view Southwest fares through the GDS and the direct connect?

A. The Southwest Direct Connect is available in tandem with the GDS. If

content is accessed from GDS as well as the direct connect, then only the

best fare is shown to the user when the same flights are returned by both

sources. If the GDS does not return a fare, we will not show content from the

direct connect.

To be considered "the same fare" (with respect to only showing the best

fare), the fares would need to both be Y class ("Anytime"), both be K class

("Business Select"), or both be non-refundable ("Wanna Get Away").

NOTE: The Southwest Direct Connect cannot be enabled in tandem with

alternate GDS. Administrators will receive a message if they attempt

to turn on both at the same time:

Q. How does cancellation work?

A. We have adjusted the text on true trip cancel to reflect that Southwest

Direct Connect is considered live content. As Southwest allows a cancel of any

ticket within 24 hours for a full refund, we have implemented the following

policy for Southwest Direct Connect:

 Within 24 hours of ticketing, we always allow Southwest Direct Connect

content to be canceled.

 24 hours after ticketing:

• If live trip cancel settings are set to "do not allow traveler to

cancel," then cancel will not be allowed.

• If live trip cancel settings are set to "cancel all segments and

queue," then we will cancel with Southwest Direct Connect and

cancel the passive segments in the PNR.

Trips cancelled in Concur Travel after the 24-hour period will also be logged in

the unused ticket bank as well as in the user's SAP Concur profile within

frequent traveler programs:

Travel: Southwest Direct Connect Travel Service Guide 35

Last Revised: December 18, 2020

NOTE: This section in the profile will only be visible to users if the Southwest

Direct Connect is enabled for their configuration.

Q. How can Southwest Direct Connect bookings be serviced?

A. Currently, ticket changes must be made by calling the Southwest

Customer Service line at 1-800-435-9792.

Q. Will agencies still be able to receive a copy of the confirmation email?

A. Yes. Agencies are able to use the override email address within the travel

configuration to specify where to send all Southwest communications.

Q. Is the Southwest frequent flyer number passed to Southwest?

A. Yes. Southwest does validate that the name in the PNR matches the name

associated to the FF number.

Q. When is a ticket issued with Southwest?

A. When a user clicks Submit for Purchase or an approver approves the

trip. At this point, Concur Travel passes the form of payment to Southwest

and a ticket is issued.

Q. Is the Southwest Direct Connect available for all GDSs?

A. Yes.

Q. Does the Southwest Direct Connect require the name on a credit to match?

A. Yes. The full name must match the information Southwest has on their

side (first, middle, and last).

Q. Does the Southwest Direct Connect support "live itinerary"?

A. Yes. Anytime a user views their itinerary in Concur Travel, it will pull from

the Southwest database. This means that the user will see the itinerary real-

time and Concur Travel will see if changes have occurred directly with

Southwest.

Q. How far out is inventory maintained through the Southwest Direct Connect?

A. Similar to the southwest.com web site and the GDS, Southwest inventory

is available 180 days from today through the direct connect.

Q. Will I receive e-receipts for Southwest Direct Connect bookings?

A. Yes. The itinerary will automatically create a receipt posted in Concur

Expense if the Accept Itinerary Air Ticket as Air E-Receipt check box is

selected in the travel configuration.

36 Travel: Southwest Direct Connect Travel Service Guide

Last Revised: December 18, 2020

Q. Are discounts supported through the Southwest Direct Connect?

A. Yes. Discounts apply based on the agreement with Southwest if the

Southwest Company Account number is set up in travel configuration.

Q. What information does Southwest validate when making a booking?

A. Southwest Airlines uses Verisign for their credit card verification/

authorization process. The credit card information supplied in your SAP

Concur profile is what is used. Verisign has very strict guidelines about

verification that include:

 Full address disclosure

 If the credit card has an address (ie, a personal card), the postal code has

to be either 5 or 9 numbers, ignoring dashes. So 55555, 55555-1234 and

555551234 are both accepted.

 If the credit card does not have an address, we send the company

address, and then the postal code has to be 5 or 9 numbers with no

dashes.

Q. Why was my credit card rejected by Southwest? My card does expire until the end

of the month.

A. Southwest defines the expiration date as the first day of the expiration

month – instead of the last day. This is a limitation of Southwest

Airlines.

SAP Concur sends the expiration date as it reads in SAP Concur, which is

month/year. Southwest assumes the expiration date to be the first day of the

month and instead of the last day.

Q. Does the Southwest Direct Connect support passive/require approval via mobile?

A. Yes. The Southwest Direct Connect supports passive and require approval

via the SAP Concur mobile app. These apply to sites with passive/require

approval enabled.

Q. Is an email address required for Southwest Direct Connect bookings?

A. Due to new requirements of the Southwest Direct Connect API, Concur

Travel now requires an email address for every Southwest Direct Connect

reservation. Since most – if not all – SAP Concur profiles already include an

email address, there should be no visible effect to the end user.

In the unlikely case that the email address is missing, Concur Travel will

display an error message during the initial reservation.

Q. Which time zone is used regarding the Southwest ticketing time limit?

A. Southwest uses US Central Standard Time, but they would backdate their

ticketing time limits for users in the PST time zone.

Travel: Southwest Direct Connect Travel Service Guide 37

Last Revised: December 18, 2020

Q. Do we support applying a high-value credit to a low-value Southwest Direct

Connect booking?

A. Yes. This is supported, but it is important to note that we do not track the

value of the credit on Concur Travel's side. This will be stored and tracked by

Southwest.

☼