When you take a flight, particularly a domestic one, you usually expect to get a free ginger ale and perhaps some pretzels. Southwest Airlines had other plans for one lucky group of passengers, however, as itprovided everyone on a flightto San Diego Comic Con with a free Nintendo Switch system.
Southwest Flight 2246 was headed from Dallas to San Diego, where its passengers were gearing up to attend the massive San Diego Comic Con. Once seated, however, a Nintendo representative appeared and gave them a chance to play a customSuper Mario Maker 2level called “Southwest Super Sky Challenge,” and those who played entered for a chance to win a $500 gift card for Southwest as well as a Switch withSuper Mario Maker 2.
What the passengers didn’t know was that everyone on the flight was getting the console. According to Funimation social media manager Nicholas Friedman, it came as a huge surprise.
“When they announced the winner, we thought that was it,” Friedman said. “But the [Nintendo] representative then said, ‘You get a Switch! You get a Switch!’ over the intercom.”
!!!pic.twitter.com/11R6BPmc9z
— Nicholas Friedman (@NMFreed)August 03, 2025
Hiding this many consoles on a plane likely would have caused an issue, so Nintendo and Southwest instead opted for something a little smaller on the plane itself.
“They gave us a voucher, and when we got off the plane we were each handed a red bag with the console and a code for the game inside,” Friedman added.
The only downside? As the newNintendo Switch with a better batteryhasn’t yet released, the passengers were given the original system. Still, for the price of “free,” it’s hard to beat, andSuper Mario Maker 2is a great first game to see what the system is capable of in its docked and handheld modes.
Southwest and Nintendo are currently holding a month-long giveaway called the “Let’s Play Getaway,” which gives winners a Nintendo prize pack similar to the one given away on the plane. One grand prize winner will get a round-trip plane ride with three guests, plus four Nintendo Switch systems and digital copies ofSuper Mario Maker 2. The Switch sure does make those plane rides more bearable, too.
