[...] Speaking exclusively to Airline Business today, Southwest senior director of planning and distribution, Richard Sweet, said the carrier is "starting to hold talks with potential [long-haul] partners" with a view to entering into similar codeshare agreements to those it recently signed with Canada's WestJet and Mexico's Volaris.
Under the WestJet and Volaris deals, all transborder flying will initially be carried out by the Canadian and Mexican carriers, allowing Southwest to "get a toe in" the international marketplace "in a low risk way", says Sweet, adding that "this doesn't preclude us from doing the flying ourselves in the future".
This is a pattern that could eventually be repeated on flights outside of the Americas. However, Sweet says that from a technological and operational standpoint, "getting out of this hemisphere" will be a lot more challenging. "This would be phase two of the work we'd have to do to codeshare on longer flights east and west," he says, adding that any deal with a long-haul carrier is "probably at least a year-and-a-half to two years down the road".
"Flying with a codeshare partner long-haul is certainly something we're interested in doing in the long-term," says Sweet. Asked whether an eventual codeshare deal with a long-haul airline could be a precursor to Southwest one day branching into the long-haul market with its own aircraft, Sweet responds that this would represent "another big move out of our present model and it would involve a different aircraft type, but I'm not saying we wouldn't do it".
[...]
In terms of long-haul codeshare partners, Sweet says that "at this point we're willing to talk to anybody to find out if there is an opportunity to make a match". He adds: "As a feeder to a long-haul carrier we provide a strong business and leisure mix. We could match up with any carrier, although the closer to [our business model] the better."
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Southwest could be salvation to Icelandair at BWI and BOS, but I'm not keen on double-connecting to get to Europe (beyond Iceland, anyway) and narrow-body service all the way just to save $100.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 3Cforme
Southwest could be salvation to Icelandair at BWI and BOS, but I'm not keen on double-connecting to get to Europe (beyond Iceland, anyway) and narrow-body service all the way just to save $100.
And also don't forget where FI will inauguration new nonstop KEF-SEA sometime in the summer. See recent the original thread from a.net.
Didn't FI and WN try a partnership in BWI a few years ago already?
They sure did, more than a few years ago. From the December 18, 1996 Wall Street Journal:
Quote:
Southwest Air Tries Experimental Pact With Icelandair --- To Europe From Cleveland? Proceed to Baltimore, Then Stop in Reykjavik
DALLAS -- How far has the global aviation alliance frenzy gone? Even no-frills Southwest Airlines has taken on a European partner -- Icelandair.
Southwest said it signed a marketing agreement with Icelandair to transport passengers between the Reykjavik-based carrier's Baltimore gateway and Cleveland.
The pact isn't a code-share agreement, in which airlines list their flight codes on each other's flights. And it doesn't mean that Southwest is abandoning its strategy of refusing to connect baggage to other airlines, though luggage will be transferred to and from Icelandair across the tarmac in Baltimore. [...]
Even so, it marks a first for Southwest, which has avoided partnerships because it doesn't provide the full service offered by other carriers. [...]
Dave Ridley, vice president of marketing and sales, said Southwest has "anecdotal evidence" that some passengers are already using the Dallas-based airline to connect to overseas flights through Baltimore. Southwest, the eighth-largest U.S. carrier, has no international routes of its own.
"We're just experimenting, seeing if we can do this and still maintain our low operating costs and simplicity of life," he said. "There is no strategic agenda here. This is a tactical experiment."
Icelandair approached Southwest with the idea, as have several other international carriers. What attracted Southwest to this alliance, Mr. Ridley said, was that the carrier will, for the most part, be able to maintain its normal operations.
Under the test program with Icelandair, Cleveland passengers can connect to European destinations through Baltimore with a stop in Reykjavik. Tickets must be purchased through Icelandair. The carriers will launch the partnership with a special nonrefundable, restricted roundtrip fare of $348 from Cleveland to Luxembourg. [...]
