Southwest announces 2 new international gateways ahead of Icelandair partnership

On January 20, 2025By Littum

Southwest Airlines will launch its first international airline partnership next month, expanding its short list of international gateways to Denver and Nashville, the airline announced.

Baltimore had already been announced as its first such gateway, setting the stage for Southwest to officially enter into an interline agreement with Icelandair at a ceremony in nearby Washington, DC, on Wednesday.

TPG was on hand as executives signed a pact that cements the bond between the two carriers, one that will eventually allow Southwest loyalists to redeem Rapid Rewards points on flights to Iceland, Europe and beyond.

The ceremony, held at the residence of Iceland’s ambassador to the United States, marked what Southwest is touting as the first tangible step in a series of massive changes the Dallas-based carrier outlined last year. This transformation will eventually bring the first assigned seats with extra legroom to Southwest’s Boeing 737.

The first, however, is this joining of forces with Icelandair.

“Interline partnerships are very common in the airline industry. But this is our first, so it’s very exciting for us,” Southwest Chief Operating Officer Andrew Watterson said moments before the two carriers made their partnership official.

A softer launch of the partnership

Seam TPG reported in September that the Southwest-Icelandair connection will be more limited at first.

From February, travelers will be able to book itineraries with seamless connections between the two airlines via Icelandair’s website.

Customers will also be able to book Southwest-Icelandair itineraries through certain third-party booking sites.

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From the outset, the partnership will focus on just one gateway on the US side: Southwest’s Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) base.

A Southwest Airlines jet at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI). SEAN CUDAHY/THE POINT GUY

However, the airlines soon plan to expand the setup to Denver International Airport (DEN) and Nashville International Airport (BNA), Southwest executives revealed Wednesday.

“We will continue to do this in phases,” Ryan Green, Southwest’s executive responsible for overseeing the airline’s wholesale changes announced last year, told TPG on Wednesday.

Deeper ties begin next year

Expect the two airlines’ ties to grow in 2026 after Southwest launches assigned seating; the logistics of developing its technology systems to facilitate a partnership in its open seating — and again after switching to assigned seating — didn’t make sense, Green said.

The cabin of a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft. SEAN CUDAHY/THE POINTS GUY

Once the assigned seating is live, however, Southwest plans to begin selling Icelandair seats through its reservation channels. At that time, customers would be able to book flights to Reykjavik’s Keflavik Airport (KEF) and top European destinations through Southwest’s website.

“We’re adding components … like earn and (redeem) with Rapid Rewards and loyalty,” Green added. “And we’re going to kind of continue to add layers.”

Pomp and circumstance

The ceremonial launch of this partnership in DC was full of pomp and pageantry.

Southwest and Icelandair executives exchanged gifts. The Reykjavik-based transport ship offered a piece of molten rock from a newly formed lava field in Iceland. Southwest came up with a decorative version of its signature emblem.

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SEAN CUDAHY/THE POINTS GUY

Then executives from both carriers raised their glasses to toast (“Must!”) Brennivin, Iceland’s national drink.

“This will be a wonderful partnership,” Svanhildur Hólm Valsdóttir, Iceland’s ambassador to the United States, said during the celebrations.

Southwest is fighting for global reach

Southwest plans to announce at least one additional international airline partner by 2025, executives reiterated Wednesday. Beyond that, the airline hopes a growing list of partners will give Rapid Rewards members more destinations to choose from.

“We are in talks with both additional transatlantic carriers as well as transpacific carriers,” Green acknowledged. “Ultimately, this is about giving customers choice, to expand the reach and breadth of the Southwest Airlines brand beyond the reach of the 737.”

Southwest Airlines jet at Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) in Las Vegas. SEAN CUDAHY/THE POINTS GUY

Of course, not so long ago, none of this would have been possible.

In recent years, the airline has poured money into modernizing its notoriously outdated technical infrastructure — investments designed to do everything from prevent another holiday 2022-like meltdown to pave the way for changes like Southwest’s first red-eye flights next month. Not to mention, of course, allowing Southwest to launch its most global foray yet — a once-hard-to-imagine tie-in with an international partner.

“This is a new capability that we have. And that’s what transformation is all about,” Watterson said. “And then we’ll use this as a normal course of business, we’ll add more gateways. Another partner. Third partner.”

Follow along…

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