Southwest Airlines – Volaris code-share pact for international travel

Southwest Airlines, the low-cost airline based in Dallas, Texas, the United States, has entered into a code-share agreement with Volaris, another low-fare airline based in Mexico.

The agreement will lead to connecting flights throughout Mexico.

Southwest Airlines, the world’s biggest low-cost carrier that serves 64 airports, has its largest focus city at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, the United States.

Volaris, the airline founded in 2006, is the commercial brand of the Mexican group Concesionaria Vuela Compañía de Aviación S.A. de C.V. and is based in the city of Toluca in Mexico. It is a fast-growing Mexican airline with its headquarters in  Santa Fe in Mexico City, and its operational base is located at the Lic. Adolfo López Mateos International Airport (TLC) in Toluca, situated 31 miles west of Mexico City. Volaris currently operates on 39 routes in 23 cities, serving most of the major resort cities on both coasts of Mexico. It has a fleet of 18 new Airbus A319 aircraft and A320 twin-engine jets.

In a statement, Southwest Airlines said it planned to work on details of the code-share agreement in 2009 and would announce flight schedules, routes and fares by early 2010.

At present, Volaris has no flights into the United States, and Southwest Airlines has no plans for trans-border flying, but one of Volaris’ busiest destinations is Tijuana, just across the border from San Diego in California, the United States.

In the statement, Gary Kelly, chief executive officer of Southwest Airlines, said: “Southwest Airlines and Volaris will offer a seamless travel experience to a wide array of destinations with code-share flight schedules and additional features. By the spring of 2009, Southwest Airlines’ website will become a distribution channel for Volaris tickets. Loyalty programmes, ground-handling and cargo are areas of potential cooperation. We are continuing to look for ways to expand our network through international code-share partnerships, and we are excited to team up with Volaris to offer our customers access to attractive Mexican destinations.”

Richard Sweet, senior director (planning and distribution) of Southwest Airlines,  wrote on the airline’s website, “Volaris, despite being an unknown brand in the United States and a relatively small and certainly new airline, has proved to be a successful and viable airline and is developing a new generation of flyers in Mexico.”

Enrique Beltranena, CEO of Volaris, was quoted as describing Southwest Airlines as “the best possible partner.”

Meanwhile, Southwest Airlines is in the process of finalising its code-share agreement with WestJet Airlines, a low-cost carrier based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

WestJet Airlines flies to most major cities in Canada and serves destinations in the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean. It is is the second-largest Canadian carrier behind Air Canada. WestJet Airlines is the third-largest airline in Canada when Air Canada Jazz, Canada’s largest regional air carrier operating for Air Canada to destinations in Canada and the United States, is taken into account.