Southwest looking for new loyalty opportunities and a return to international flying

If it was not already obvious, today's Southwest Airlines is not your parents' Southwest.

Just days after CEO Bob Jordan spoke of the potential for long-haul international destinations — think Europe, not Kansas — the airline made its first showing at the annual meeting of the global aviation trade group International Air Transport Association in New Delhi. The meeting is a who's who of senior aviation leadership where deals get done.

Steven Swan, the managing director of international at Southwest, acknowledged this during a sit-down in New Delhi.

"It's a big change for us," he said.

Southwest first flew outside the U.S. in 2014 — AirTran Airways operated international flights as a Southwest subsidiary prior to that — schedule data from aviation analytics firm Cirium shows. But ever since then, the airline has been better known for its domestic breadth than foreign reach.

"We understand our customers want to go places outside of the country as well, and we want to be able to provide them with that opportunity," said Swan.

Just showing up in New Delhi is a symbol, at least to the airline industry, of Southwest's internationalization.

And the possibility of long-haul flights comes during a period of dramatic change for the airline. Bags stopped flying free last week. Extra-legroom seats go on sale in October. And open seating ends early next year. And then there's the possibility of Southwest lounges, or even first class, in the future.

New destinations abroad are coming

Southwest has not added a new international destination since Cozumel International Airport (CZM) in 2020, Cirium schedules show. That's not to say it has not grown; the airline added 17 new U.S. destinations ranging from Miami International Airport (MIA) to Yampa Valley Regional Airport (HDN) near Steamboat Springs in the Colorado mountains during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Domestic growth has slowed dramatically — the airline exited four cities, including Cozumel, in 2024 — and Southwest is "transitioning back," as Swan put it, to expanding its international map.

Swan was diplomatic on where the carrier could go, paraphrasing former CEO Gary Kelly's oft-repeated line about Southwest having 50 or so international destinations it could serve.

He did say that Southwest's next few international additions would follow the pattern of the cities it already serves. That is: leisure-heavy destinations in the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America that cater to American tourists.

After those cities come online, however, the sky is the limit — or at least the range of one of Southwest's Boeing 737 MAX planes.

"We believe its first forays into long-haul international service could involve connecting into Reykjavík, which is in range for its [737] MAX 8s," wrote Tom Fitzgerald, an airline analyst at TD Cowen, in a report May 31. He cited Southwest's existing partnership with Icelandair and noted that the European service could "drive co-brand credit card spending by Rapid Rewards members."

Asked to comment on Fitzgerald's report, Swan said, "Anything that is within the MAX range is appealing to us to add to the network."

He added that Icelandair, which Southwest began connecting with at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) in January, does a "fantastic job."

Rapid Rewards partnerships are in the works

One big piece missing from Southwest's Icelandair partnership is loyalty. Currently, it only connects travelers and checked bags with the European carrier's flights at six U.S. airports.

Adding Rapid Rewards points accrual and redemption, and maybe even loyalty benefits, has the potential to make any international tie-up much richer for both Southwest and its partner.

Southwest is working toward providing customers "the capability to use their Rapid Reward points to travel wherever they want to go — if that's in Asia, or that's in Europe, or that's in Africa," said Swan.

The IT systems needed to power loyalty tie-ups, codeshares or more are, as with so many things technology at Southwest, in the works, he explained.

In the meantime, travelers can look forward to China Airlines joining Icelandair as a Southwest partner in 2026. The tie-up with the Taiwanese carrier will look much the same: Travelers can book flights on both airlines across a single itinerary and the airlines will transfer checked bags. Loyalty benefits and anything else are to come.

Related reading:

• Southwest Rapid Rewards: Guide to earning and redeeming points, elite status and more
• The best Southwest Airlines credit cards
• How to quickly earn the Southwest Companion Pass
• Southwest A-List status: What it is and how to earn it
• Maximize your airfare: The best credit cards for booking flights
• The best credit cards to reach elite status
• How to change or cancel a Southwest Airlines flight