Southwest Airlines and Icelandair will try again a partnership they once had in the 1990s, linking Southwest’s domestic network with Icelandair’s flights to Iceland and Europe through their shared gateway at Baltimore’s BWI Airport.
The arrangement, to take effect in 2025, was announced late last week by the airlines, although without too much detail and some vague wording about future opportunities for members of Southwest’s A-List loyalty program.
The 1997 arrangement included code-shared flights and interline arrangements that allowed baggage to be checked all the way to final destinations; it’s likely that the new arrangement will include those features as well. Southwest indicated that flights may eventually meet at other joint cities as well.
Icelandair flies from the U.S. to its home base at Keflavik, Iceland, where connections are available for its flights to 34 European cities; Southwest has around 100 destinations from Baltimore, where it’s the largest carrier, with nearly 70% of passenger traffic. Both airlines have in common that they are one-class airlines with no premium cabins.
Southwest, under pressure from new investors and poor financials, has already planned a number of operating changes, including switching over next year to assigned seating and operating some redeye routes. It’s also hinted it has other international deals in the works.
