Southwest Officially Launching Connections to Europe — What to Know

Southwest Airlines’ planned expansion to Europe is quickly becoming a reality. 

The Dallas, TX-based carrier recently shared with Travel + Leisure that it has officially signed a joint commercial agreement with Icelandair to begin flights between the two airlines starting in February 2025. The inaugural Icelandair flights will take off from Baltimore, MD (BWI) airport to Reykjavik, Iceland, although a specific launch day within February has not been disclosed. 

Once in Iceland, travelers can connect to Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Dublin, Paris, Prague, and other destinations throughout Europe within Icelandair’s route network. Best of all, the flights will operate as codeshare flights, which means a passenger can check their luggage through to a final destination. 

After the launch of the Baltimore connection, Southwest plans to roll out a similar connection program to both Denver International Airport and Nashville International Airport as additional North American gateway cities.

For example, a traveler could fly from Chicago to Baltimore on Southwest, and then connect in Baltimore to Icelandair. The traveler would only have to check their bag once, and then be able to use a single booking itinerary for the entire journey, despite involving two airlines. This is a similar agreement to how United Airlines partners with Lufthansa or Air Canada for select international routes. 

Icelandair is also known for its stopover program, which provides travelers the opportunity to visit Iceland for up to a week without any additional fare. The airline explains it is an easy way to visit two destinations for the price of one. 

“Beyond an ability to offer each other’s Customers access to new destinations and like-minded travel experiences centered around hospitality and value, we’re grateful to have been guided by their expertise and best practices in building our program,” Southwest Airlines’ Chief Transformation Officer Ryan Greer said at the signing event. 

Southwest had previously announced its European expansion in September 2024 during an Investor Day.