Co-Terminals
 

Where can I find the list of Southwest's valid co-terminals per their flexible accommodation policy? Is LGA a sister terminal of EWR from the perspective of the policy?

Thanks

Not aware of any list of "valid co-terminals." Rebooking from SFO to OAK is commonly YES --- AUS to SAT is a flat NO.

I tend to think exigent circumstances - and a benevolent agent - control decisions.

Not 100% sure what you're asking, but I can say with certainty that it is possible to be accommodated between LGA and EWR. I was recently on the last MDW-LGA flight of the night which was canceled, and they were able to get me on to the last MDW-EWR instead, which did eventually depart late. I was happy to make it to New York but then I ended up with a cab ride to Brooklyn that cost well over $100 (train was not a great option at 2am), and then I had to go to LGA the next day to get the bag that I had checked on MDW-LGA. Super annoying all around.

Specifically trying to confirm what airports qualify for the highlighted section below...thanks.

Southwest Airlines Reaccommodation Practices and Information:

• When Southwest Airlines learns of events that may affect our flights' departures such as inclement conditions or airport anomalies that may hinder our Customers' abilities to get to/from a particular airport, we will offer Customers the opportunity to change their travel dates and/or flight times at no additional charge.
• Even though Southwest is offering the opportunity to make these changes, the Customer's original flight(s) may operate as scheduled, so changing travel dates and/or flight times is completely voluntary and not required.
• Customers who would like to alter their travel plans may rebook in the original class of service (or fly standby) and travel must take place within 14 days of their original travel date between the original city pairs. (In some cases when a particular airport is affected, and Southwest serves a "sister airport" or "co-terminal", we will offer the flexibility to depart from/arrive into an alternate airport. For example, if San Francisco International Airport is affected, Customers may be offered the opportunity to change to the San Jose or Oakland airports.)
• Only Customers who purchased their ticket(s) on southwest.com are eligible to rebook via our online View or Change Your Flight service. All other Customers should call our toll-free number (800) 435-9792 for assistance.
• If changes are made for travel outside the parameters of Southwest Airlines' reaccommodation practices, the changes are subject to the original fare restrictions and may result in a higher fare.
• Customers who have booked a Business Select Fare may change to another flight with Business Select or may switch to an Anytime Fare when Business Select is unavailable.

I don't have a full list, but I do have a flight to LGA that's eligible for change and it shows me EWR and ISP as valid airports under the accommodation policy.

Strictly an educated guess but if you go to book a flight and type a few character in the "arrive" box, "XXXX Area Airports" will appear in a grouping.

suspect those are "official" co-terminals.

Try FLL, LAX. SJC, LGA, DCA, BOS to check it out. LGA, EWR & ISP do appear together. Others?

Thanks!

Are there certain cities you fly to that might have them? Maybe folks can address those cities for you.

Can confirm that a flight booked to EWR offers up LGA and ISP as a free change. Same for FLL and PBI, and OAK/SFO/SJC.

Boston Area: BOS, MHT, PVD
Hawaii Area: HNL, KOA, OGG
Los Angeles Area: BUR, LAX, LGB, ONT, SNA
Northwest Florida Beaches Area: ECP, PNS
New York Area: ISP, LGA, EWR
San Francisco Area: OAK, SFO, SJC
Washington, D.C. Area: BWI, IAD, DCA

The list is here.

One time with irrops flying lga-mdw, they were offering mke as alternative for mdw. I ended up doing ewr-mdw instead

Although outdated (sorry!), there is discussion of co-terminals in the Wiki FAQ. As noted there (specifically regarding PBI and FLL), the "Area" groupings are not the same as co-terminals. The Wiki FAQ points out other oddities, such as: why are SAN / SNA, AUS / SAT, and TPA / MCO not co-terminals when other co-terminals are more widely separated?

When LGA and DCA joined the network, it was unclear ahead of time how those stations would be handled regarding co-terminal status.

A long time ago southwest.com did have a co-terminals list, but it was removed from the site.

The co-terminals list might restrict the flexibility of phone agents during IRROPS, but the list does not restrict what airport agents can do for affected passengers.

So, I was curious about this, too- and when you great-circle map them (which probably makes sense from an aviation aspect, as while it's never "as the crow flies" due to traffic patterns and such, it's a better representation of distance than roads are).

Turns out that while say, LAX-ONT is 47 GC miles, SNA-SAN is 76 GC miles (despite the fact that I'll bet on most days you could drive SAN-SNA faster than you could LAX-ONT).

TPA-MCO is 81 GC miles and AUS-SAT is is 66 GC miles. It wouldn't surprise me if WN used a ~50mi limit for co-terminal determination.

HNL-KOA is 163 miles.

... and it takes a lot longer to drive between them, so they've made HI a special case.