Is Southwest Vacations a subsidiary of Southwest Airlines?

No. Southwest Vacations is a licensed brand operated by ALG Vacations Corp., a tour operator based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Southwest Airlines Co. owns the brand name and supplies the flights, while ALG runs bookings, hotel contracting, and customer service.

Is Southwest Vacations publicly traded?

Not directly. The brand belongs to Southwest Airlines Co., which trades on the NYSE under ticker LUV. Its operator, ALG Vacations, is part of Hyatt Hotels Corporation, which trades on the NYSE under ticker H.

When was Southwest Vacations founded?

Southwest has sold vacation packages since the 1990s, and the current program structure dates to 2011 when the airline consolidated the offering under the tour operator now known as ALG Vacations. The brand has remained Southwest Vacations through successive operator ownership changes.

Who founded Southwest Vacations?

The brand was developed by Southwest Airlines as an extension of its leisure business rather than founded by individuals. Its current form reflects a partnership with the Milwaukee-based tour operator that became part of ALG Vacations.

What is Southwest Vacations' market position?

It is a mass-market package brand serving Southwest's leisure customer base, competitive on routes the airline serves heavily like Las Vegas, Florida, and Hawaii. It is smaller than Delta Vacations and cannot serve destinations outside Southwest's network.

Do Southwest Vacations packages earn Rapid Rewards points?

Yes. Packages booked through Southwest Vacations earn Rapid Rewards points on the flight and package components, which is one of the program's main differentiators from generic tour operator offers.

Travel & Hospitality

Who Owns Southwest Vacations?

Southwest Vacations is the packaged travel brand of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV), offering bundled flight, hotel, and rental car bookings across the airline's route network. The program is operated by ALG Vacations under the Southwest Vacations name, with Southwest earning package revenue and Rapid Rewards engagement. Bookings are made through southwestvacations.com.

Parent Company

Southwest Airlines

Founded

2011

Status

Publicly Traded

Headquarters

Dallas, Texas, USA

Southwest Vacations Timeline

1967

Southwest Airlines

Parent company established in Dallas, Texas, USA

Company Founded

2011

Southwest Vacations

Founded by Southwest Airlines Co. (internal development)

Founded

United StatesOfficial Website

Who Owns Southwest Vacations?

Parent Company: Southwest Airlines
Ownership Type: Licensed
Company Type: Publicly Traded
Stock Ticker: New York Stock Exchange: LUV

Brand	Parent Company	Ownership Type
Southwest Vacations	Southwest Airlines	Licensed

History of Southwest Vacations

Founded: 2011
Founders: Southwest Airlines Co. (internal development)

Southwest Airlines has sold leisure packages in various forms since the 1990s, when it first partnered with tour operators to bundle its flights with hotels in Las Vegas and Florida, its two biggest leisure markets. The arrangements ran under names including Southwest Airlines Vacations, with outside operators doing the contracting and fulfillment.

The program took its modern shape in 2011 when Southwest consolidated the vacations offering under The Mark Travel Corporation, the Milwaukee-based operator behind Funjet Vacations. The deal gave Southwest's customers access to Mark Travel's hotel inventory, package technology, and destination services while keeping the customer-facing brand entirely Southwest.

Mark Travel became part of Apple Leisure Group in 2013 when Bain Capital merged it with the AMResorts owner. Hyatt Hotels Corporation acquired Apple Leisure Group in 2021 for approximately $2.7 billion, bringing the tour operation under the hotel company's ALG Vacations division. Through each change of operator ownership, the Southwest Vacations brand and customer proposition stayed stable.

Growth has tracked Southwest's expansion into leisure markets. The AirTran acquisition added Caribbean and Mexico destinations, and the airline's buildout of Hawaii service beginning in 2019 gave the vacations business a major new destination to package. Southwest Vacations sells flight, hotel, rental car, and activity bundles across the network, with Rapid Rewards points and promotional codes as the airline-specific hooks.

The business remains small relative to the airline's $28.1 billion FY2025 revenue base but supports a strategic goal: filling seats on leisure routes and deepening Rapid Rewards engagement among price-sensitive vacation travelers.

About Southwest Airlines

What does Southwest Airlines own?
Southwest Airlines owns a portfolio of aviation brands including Southwest Airlines (core passenger airline service), Southwest Cargo (air cargo and logistics), and Southwest Vacations (vacation packages and travel services). The company previously owned AirTran Airways, which it acquired in 2011 for approximately $1.4 billion and fully integrated by 2014. Southwest operates a fleet of over 800 Boeing 737 aircraft.

Is Southwest Airlines publicly traded?
Yes. Southwest Airlines is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker LUV. The company has been publicly traded since its IPO in 1977 and is owned by its shareholders, with no single controlling shareholder. Major institutional shareholders include Vanguard Group and BlackRock.

Who founded Southwest Airlines?
Southwest Airlines was founded in 1967 by Rollin King and Herb Kelleher. King, a San Antonio businessman, conceived the idea for a low-cost intrastate airline serving Texas. Kelleher, an attorney, provided the legal and strategic leadership that guided the company through years of legal challenges before its first flight in 1971. Kelleher served as CEO from 1982 to 2001 and remained Chairman until 2008.

Where is Southwest Airlines headquartered?
Southwest Airlines is headquartered at Dallas Love Field in Dallas, Texas, USA. The company has maintained its headquarters at Love Field since its founding and operates its primary hub from this location. Major operational bases include Chicago Midway, Baltimore/Washington, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Denver, and Houston Hobby.

What is Southwest Airlines' revenue?
Southwest Airlines reported full-year 2025 operating revenues of $28.1 billion and net income of $441 million, or $0.73 per diluted share. Fourth quarter 2025 operating revenues were $6.9 billion. The company generated record full-year 2025 operating cash flow of $3.2 billion and returned $597 million to shareholders through share repurchases.

What changes is Southwest making in 2026?
Southwest is implementing the most significant changes in its history in 2026. Assigned seating replaced the airline's long-standing open seating policy for travel starting January 27, 2026. The airline introduced extra legroom seats as a premium product. New fare bundles, including a basic economy fare, were created to compete with ultra-low-cost carriers. Red-eye flights were added to expand aircraft utilization. These changes are part of a business transformation expected to generate $1.5 to $2.0 billion in incremental annual EBITDA by 2027.

Who leads Southwest Airlines?
Bob Jordan serves as President and CEO of Southwest Airlines, having assumed the role in February 2022. Jordan has been with Southwest since 1989 and previously served as Executive Vice President of Corporate Services and as President of AirTran Airways. He replaced Gary Kelly, who moved to Executive Chairman before announcing his departure under pressure from activist investor Elliott Investment Management.

Founded: 1967
Headquarters: Dallas, Texas, USA
Company Type: Publicly Traded
Stock: New York Stock Exchange: LUV
Revenue: $28.1 billion (FY2025)
Employees: approximately 73,077

Visit Southwest Airlines website

View full company profile for Southwest Airlines

Where Is Southwest Vacations Made / Based?

Headquarters: Dallas, Texas, USA

Southwest Vacations Categories & Tags

Vacation Packages Travel Southwest Airlines Leisure Travel Tour Operator

Southwest Vacations Ownership: Pros & Cons

Advantages

+Bundled pricing typically beats separately booked totals on leisure routes
+Rapid Rewards integration keeps package buyers inside the Southwest ecosystem
+ALG Vacations' scale delivers hotel inventory and pricing Southwest could not negotiate alone
+Drives incremental seat revenue on leisure routes with no added fleet cost

Considerations

-Licensed operation means Southwest controls the brand but not the fulfillment experience
-Destination coverage limited to the Southwest route network
-Packages compete with larger OTA bundlers that offer every airline
-Third-party operator economics mean most package margin goes to ALG

Frequently Asked Questions About Southwest Vacations

Sources & Further Reading

Competitors to Southwest Vacations

These competing brands operate in the same categories and provide similar products or services. Compare key attributes to understand market positioning and competitive landscape.

Brand	Parent Company	Country	Founded	Market Position	Primary Market	Gender Target
Delta Vacations	Delta Air Lines	USA	1969	Mass market	United states	All Genders
United Vacations	United Airlines Holdings	USA	1988	Mass market	United states	All Genders