Why do Southwest flight numbers start with WN?

How did Southwest become WN? Our original two-letter code (late 1970s) was OE, and the best I can recollect from others that have retired, WN was the only thing with a W in it that sounded remotely like Southwest or even Western since SW and other obvious choices were already taken.



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Southwest Is A Safe Airline
They are a favorite among travelers looking for cheap flights without having to compromise on comfort or security. According to the most recent list of the world's safest airlines, Southwest was ranked in the top 15 airlines in the world in 2021, even beating out Delta, American, and United.

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Airline Class of Service Codes A - First Class Discounted. B - Economy/Coach – Usually an upgradable fare to Business. C - Business Class. D - Business Class Discounted. E - Shuttle Service (no reservation allowed) or Economy/Coach Discounted.

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Airlines can schedule multiple flights with the same flight number on the same day (sometimes on the same route and sometimes on different flight segments). This varies by carrier.

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The P indicates a positioning flight.

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On the Southwest website, click on your flight number, and it will bring up a box with on-time info and the type of plane. Southwest only flys 737's, 737-700's, 737-800's and a small handful of 737-MAX 8.

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Southwest flies only Boeing instead of Airbus because when it was founded, to keep costs down, they decided to have not only one brand, but one model of airplane — the 737.

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If a flight has few seats left, Southwest's website will show the number of seats left below the price in small, red text. But these are the only seats remaining under a certain fare class, not necessarily the last seats on the plane.

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