Southwest Airlines fares now listed on Kayak as the carrier's evolution continues

Southwest Airlines flights are now bookable on Kayak as the carrier continues its business evolution.

“This is a great development for travelers,” Kayak CEO Steve Hafner said in a statement . “We first started showing Southwest in 2022 to Kayak for Business customers. We’re thrilled to expand that relationship to the millions of leisure travelers who use Kayak.”

Southwest long required travelers to search for and book their tickets directly on the airline's website. In May, that began to change with the announcement that Southwest itineraries would begin showing up in Google Flights results .

The airline has been under pressure from investors to be a stronger competitor to other major U.S. carriers, and that has led to plans for significant changes at Southwest.

In addition to advertising its fares in more places, the airline last month announced it would end its open seating policy. It plans to start assigning seats and introduce a more segmented cabin with extra legroom seating, though the airline has yet to announce when these changes will roll out.

Southwest, once a Wall Street favorite among airlines for its consistent profits, has fallen behind some of its comeptitors, drawing pressure from shareholders including the activist investing firm Elliott Management.

Zach Wichter is a travel reporter for USA TODAY based in New York. You can reach him at zwichter@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Southwest Airlines fares now listed on Kayak as the carrier's evolution continues