Southwest Airlines and Icelandair have signed a strategic partnership agreement, letting passengers seamlessly connect between their networks. Sales and flights through Baltimore begin in February. Southwest is the largest domestic U.S. airline and Icelandair is its first partner.
Southwest customers can now connect through Europe
Previously, Southwest flights were confined to North America, but with the new partnership, they now connect through Europe. Initial flights will embark from Baltimore/Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport (BWI) and land at Reykjavik Airport (RVK) in Iceland. From there, travelers can branch out to Barcelona, Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, Paris, Dublin, and more via Icelandair’s network. Even better, they can check their bags through to their destination. Following the launch of Baltimore flights, two additional connecting points will join in Denver and Nashville.
Ryan Green, Southwest Airlines Executive Vice President & Chief Transformation Officer commented: “It’s fitting for us to launch this chapter of industry-standard airline partnerships with our longtime friends, Icelandair. Beyond an ability to offer each other’s Customers access to new destinations and like-minded travel experiences centered around hospitality and value, we’re grateful to have been guided by their expertise and best practices in building our program.”
Tómas Ingason, Icelandair Chief Commercial Officer said: “We are very excited to have formalized our partnership with Southwest and honored to be chosen as Southwest’s first airline partner. The partnership will open new and exciting connections for our customers onwards with Southwest to numerous destinations in North America, and at the same time, their customers will benefit from our extensive connections to Iceland and Europe. We welcome Southwest to our strong partnership portfolio in the US and ever-growing group of partner airlines and look forward to working together in offering our customers smooth and enjoyable travel experiences.”
