Southwest to offer flights to Canada in deal with WestJet

Carrier announces plan to broaden reach via partnership with WestJet by David Koenig | The Associated Press DALLAS - Southwest Airlines Co. said today 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 and planned to announce schedules and other features of the WestJet 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... [read full story]