It’s no secret that Southwest Airlines flights are a little more bare bones than most of its competitors, but one passenger has gone viral for an ingenious travel hack that works around some of the comforts not offered by Southwest.
Unlike airlines like Delta, United, and American, Southwest Airlines has typically served as more of a low-cost carrier with limited perks and amenities on board. While that’s changing a bit recently with the airline moving toward adding extra legroom seats and even testing free WiFi on flights, the fact remains that Southwest flights are a little more stripped down than other major carriers.
However, that did not stop one ingenious passenger from making himself extra comfortable on a Southwest flight – he just had to get a little creative.
Southwest Does Not Have Seatback Screens
These days, it’s fairly common for planes to include screens on the back of headrests, allowing passengers to watch complimentary movies, shows, or even live television in some cases. Southwest, however, has opted not to have screens in its seatbacks, likely as a cost-saving measure.
Seatback screens cost money to install and require consistent maintenance and upkeep. Additionally, they add weight to the aircraft, which has its own cost when it comes to fuel efficiency.
It’s obviously inconvenient for the customer, but the move is understandable for more of a low-cost carrier trying to keep its fares low.
American Airlines Made a Similar Move
While American Airlines does offer seatback screens on all of its longer flights, the company has recently been removing the screens from its shorter flights, taking a similar approach to Southwest, where customers can use their own devices to view in-flight entertainment.
There is one key difference between the two airlines, however.
While American Airlines may not include seatback screens on its shorter flights, it does include a seatback device holder attached to the headrest in front of you on all of its flights that do not include a seatback screen.
While Southwest did start rolling out device holders on its updated interiors beginning last year, not all Southwest planes are equipped with a device holder, especially its older planes. This forces passengers to hold their devices in their hands – or come up with other solutions.
Southwest Travel Hack Goes Viral
Without a seatback screen or a device holder, one Southwest Airlines passenger got a little bit creative on a recent flight.
In a photo that has since gone viral on social media, a Southwest Airlines passenger clipped his hat onto the seat in front of him using the adjustable strap and then placed his phone inside the hat, creating a makeshift device holder on a flight where Southwest did not offer one.
Witnessed levels of innovation I had never considered pic.twitter.com/Khwqd5xnBJ
— comfy (@ihatethiskid) August 21, 2025
The travel hack went absolutely viral on X, generating over six million impressions in just a few days while racking up more than 250,000 “likes.”
Other Travelers Weigh In
While this was obviously an ingenious solution to a problem that many travelers face when flying Southwest, other travelers weighed in with their own tips and tricks.
“Rookie. Fold and wedge the insert in half inside the pocket so it’s just barely sticking out of opening… use that as the base and lean phone against it and the edge, and lean the phone back against the inside of the pocket. Perfect setup, been doing it for years,” one person replied in a post on X.
Another user shared a Reddit post where someone had crushed up a can to use as a makeshift device holder.
Until Southwest puts a device holder on all of its flights, passengers will be forced to innovate.
