Southwest Airlines Launches Flights To Europe With Icelandair

Photo credit: Southwest Airlines

Low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines is set to start selling flights to Europe in February 2025 as it begins its commercial partnership with Icelandair, allowing customers to easily connect between the two airlines’ networks.

Now you might be asking yourself how this all works. Initially, travelers flying with Southwest Airlines from Baltimore (BWI) will have the opportunity to connect seamlessly to Icelandair flights heading to Reykjavik International Airport (KEF). From there, they’ll be able to connect to 34 destinations in Europe, including Paris, London, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Oslo, Rome, Lisbon, Barcelona, Prague, and more, all under one booking.

After the launch of the Baltimore connection, Southwest plans to roll out a similar connection program to both Denver and Nashville as additional North American gateway cities. And in addition to Icelandair’s numerous connections, Southwest passengers will be able to make use of their Stopover in Iceland program, which allows travelers on a layover to spend up to 7 days in Iceland at no additional airfare.

Photo credit: Icelandair

“We are very excited to add Southwest to our impressive partnership portfolio and are honored to be chosen as their initial airline partner. The partnership will unlock many exciting travel options for our customers, and our extensive network in Europe will open for Southwest customers. As part of our strategic focus on expanding our global partnership network, we seek out airlines known for exceptional service and connectivity. We welcome Southwest as a partner and look forward to working together to make the journeys of our mutual passengers smooth and enjoyable,” said Bogi Nils Bogason, Icelandair President and CEO.

Honestly, this is great news, giving Americans a great, low-cost way to travel across the pond and discover what Europe has to offer, without breaking the bank. Personally, I have been wanting to visit Iceland for a while now, so this might just be the way to do it, and then travel on to Europe afterwards, for a truly epic vacation.