Fly Gal

This is off our company site.

Southwest to Offer Codeshare Service to Mexico through Volaris
Southwest Airlines is pleased to announce our intention to begin a codeshare with a Mexico-based carrier, Volaris. We have completed the first step in creating a relationship that will eventually allow our Customers a seamless travel experience with low fares and a great Customer experience between their destinations in the two countries. We plan to announce codeshare flight schedules and additional features regarding the partnership by early 2010. Certain details of the codeshare are subject to approvals by both the U.S. and Mexican governments.

Volaris is a high-efficiency Mexican airline aimed at offering Customers a unique travel experience. They are known for competitive pricing and an end-to-end operations model that has earned the airline the reputation for being Mexico’s most ontime carrier. With an Airbus A320 and 18 A319 aircraft, Volaris has the youngest and most modern fleet in Mexico, serving 39 routes in 23 cities throughout Mexico. Volaris started operations in March 2006 and plans to begin flying to the U.S. sometime in 2009. More than 1,500 Employees make up the Volaris Family and bring to life the airline’s commitment to good service.

“We are continuing to look for ways to expand our network through international codeshare partnerships, and we are excited to team up with Volaris to offer our Customers access to attractive Mexican destinations,” said Executive Vice President Strategy & Planning Bob Jordan. We are not ready to announce routes, schedules, or fares at this point, but the agreement will eventually allow each carrier to check both Customers and baggage to a Passenger’s final destination. The codeshare is intended to provide convenient, viable connecting schedules. In addition, southwest.com will become a distribution channel for Volaris’ existing Mexican and future transborder flights in the Spring of 2009, providing Customers the opportunity to purchase flights on Volaris’ existing flights via southwest.com (this option will be available for existing Volaris flights before actual connecting codeshare flights are available for purchase). Other areas of possible cooperation include frequent flier options, ground handling, and Cargo.

UCLAbruins

Why doesn't Southwest offer flights to Mexico and/or Canada using their own metal?? I've been to Cancun, Cabo, Puerto Vallarta, those places are packed with American tourists...

I guess my question is , will Southwest ever go int'l?? Mexico, Canada or the Caribbean...

Godzilla

My guess fwiw is that yes Southwest will eventually go international with their own metal.
The Canada and Mexico markets do well with good loads and its basically domestic flying.
Perhaps Volaris people will eventually handle the stations in Mexico.
My experience is that the stations in Mexico do a terrific job and the employees are great.
This looks like it could create a huge new market for Southwest and we all know how they like new markets!

Raidr17

This should scare the **** out of any SWA pilot on property or soon to be now. Time do draw the line. No way I or anyone should stand for non-SWAPA flights being sold on southwest.com. Keep the resume polished and the logbook current, cause you never know. And I have been here for 2 years now.

C17MooseDriver

That's just slightly less, then how long Volaris has been in business.

The stickler is, that Volaris doesn't even do any international flying yet either, but they'll start up here in a few months to fly our passengers to Mexico.

kersplatt

I agree, with a base in PHX, there is no reason that these flights can't (shouldn't) be done with Southwest crew. Maybe they are just testing the popularity with Volaris. I have flown to Mexico many times on America West and now US Airways and a huge majority of those flights were in a codeshare regional so maybe it isn't profitable to take a 737 down there.

UCLAbruins

Oh its profitable to take a 737 down there, the legacy carriers fly anything from 737s to 757s to the Mexican beach resorts. During peak season, US and DL fly 767s to Cancun.

However, there will be no quick/20 minute turns, gotta deal with customs/inmigration. That's probably what it is

WEACLRS

Southwest's reservation and ticketing system is currently not capable of handling the complexities of international travel. The cost of redoing the system is very large as most of it was written years ago and like most old systems is a patch work of poorly documented additions and modifications. It is a major limitation to growth and they expect it to be several years work to modify it.

In the meantime, to continue the growth management thinks is so necessary to their business model, codeshares are an answer.

ACEFLYERSWA

Man, what are you smoking? or should I say drinking. You just keep drinking that kool-aid and everything is gonna be alright.

WEACLRS

Well, not being a SWA employee, they don't share the koolaid with me.

Here's one recent article (week of 10/17/08) where Gary Kelly speaks to this issue:

In Business Las Vegas

"Southwest recently announced plans to partner with Canada's WestJet Airlines on some code-share deals. How is that progressing, and how would Las Vegas fit into the WestJet equation?

I think Las Vegas will be a beneficiary of that. I think it will at least play some part in our relationship with WestJet. We're a good 12 months away from actually carrying the first passenger via that relationship. Both airlines have technology construction work to do..."

"Several months ago, Southwest also said it is interested in developing some international routes. What's the status of that and how would Las Vegas fit into that?

Of course, WestJet is the first. Mexico is very high on our list. We are working on the technology to support Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean by - call it late next year. Each airline that we sign up as a partner requires its own unique work, so it probably would happen in serial fashion..."

If a CEO is worried enough about the "technology" to speak to it publicly, then it probably is a significant barrier to his plans.