The OTA Kiwi.com has stopped displaying the Southwest Airlines logo on flight search results following the filing of trademark infringement suit by the carrier last month.
Kiwi, however, has continued to sell Southwest tickets.
Southwest, which has long eschewed working with OTAs in order to drive online sales to Southwest.com, filed the federal lawsuit in the Northern District of Texas on Jan. 14. The carrier claims that Kiwi scrapes fare information from the Southwest website and then uses that information to sell Southwest tickets without authorization. Kiwi sold approximately 187,000 Southwest tickets between 2017 and the first half of 2020, Southwest alleges. The sales continued despite Southwest sending Kiwi a series of cease-and-desist demands.
In the lawsuit, Southwest also took aim at Kiwi for using its red, blue and yellow heart-shaped logo in search results, saying that such use constitutes trademark infringement. A Kiwi search result page screenshot that Southwest included in the suit includes the logo on two different flight options.
Since that image was captured, however, Kiwi has stopped displaying the Southwest logo in search results. Instead, for Southwest flight options, Kiwi shows its own logo where the airline's logo normally would be. To learn who the carrier is, flyers must click the "Book" button, then click on the flight schedule, where they can see that the ticket carries Southwest's WN code.
Kiwi still displays logos of other airlines in search results.
In a statement, Kiwi declined to explain the discrepancy or its decision to sell Southwest tickets, citing the pending legal action.
"Kiwi.com recognizes that its innovative technology brings greater choice to customers by finding routes and building unique itineraries (that airlines cannot offer) and that this may upset the traditional but outmoded way of doing things that some airlines would like to remain in place for their advantage," the OTA said.
Southwest said that removing the logo isn't enough to satisfy the demands of the suit.
"Southwest was forced to file its federal lawsuit to stop Kiwi.com's unlawful, improper, and deceptive conduct," the carrier said in an email. "Although Kiwi.com modified its website after the lawsuit was filed, Kiwi.com continues to engage in the unauthorized activity."
Kiwi.com has also drawn the attention of the Better Business Bureau, which has leveled the OTA with an "F" rating for being "nonresposive" to the majority of 100-plus complaints filed by consumers for failing to pay out air refunds. Kiwi says it is in the process of returning an overwhelming number of refunds and has asked for patience in the matter.
Jamie Biesiada contributed to this report.