Southwest Airlines to offer flights to Canada through flight-sharing deal with WestJet

Southwest Airlines Co. said Tuesday it plans to offer international service — a first for the low-fare carrier — through a deal with Canada's WestJet. Southwest said it has taken the first step toward striking a so-called code-sharing agreement with WestJet. The airlines said they planned to announce schedules and other features of the partnership by late next year. The agreement is subject to review by U.S. and Canadian regulators. Under most code-sharing deals, airlines sell tickets on each other's flights and share the resulting revenue. Southwest passengers could connect to a WestJet flight to Canada. Frequent-flier programs are typically reciprocal. Southwest Chairman and Chief Executive Gary Kelly has often talked about offering service to nearby international destinations using a partner airline. Today in Business with... [read full story]