Effective November 12, you’ll be able to buy tickets to, from, and within Mexico at southwest.com! We’re partnering with Volaris, Mexico’s second-largest airline, in order to offer our Customers connections between cities in the Western part of our network and five of Volaris’ Mexican destinations—Cancun, Guadalajara, Morelia, Toluca/Mexico City, and Zacatecas—connecting via Los Angeles, Oakland, and San Jose. This will bring up to 85 new roundtrip markets onto the Southwest grid, which will be phased in through November and December! (See below for a list of international connect markets.) And if your travels take you between cities inside Los Estados Unidos de Mexico, Volaris can take you between 23 Mexican airports, from Tijuana and La Paz in the West to Cancun in the East and Oaxaca in the South.
As interesting as the “what,” is the “how.” You guys may remember a couple of years back when we announced plans to enter into codeshare agreements, including Volaris. However, as we started building the list of requirements and changes we’d need in order to handle international operations—either codeshare or even online with our own aircraft—we realized we just don’t have the technology in our current reservations system to make international travel possible. So we’re now busily working to replace our reservations system, which will take at least a couple of years. But because Southwest is so eager to tap the Mexican market, we partnered with Volaris to develop International Connect, an “under-the-hood” process that stitches our two networks together now! Booking international reservations will look and feel almost exactly like any other booking on southwest.com, but behind the scenes, the International Connect portal is conducting two separate transactions—one with Southwest’s reservations system and one with Volaris’—and tying the two reservations together with messages that enable through-checking of luggage and ensuring that our schedules remain in sync.
International Connect is an awesome interim step—true Southwest innovation at its best. It's a convenient, easy way to give our Customers access to, from, and within Mexico. So plan a trip "south of the border, down Mexico way" with Southwest and our new partner, Volaris beginning November 12, via southwest.com. Vamonos, y’all!
Comments
Hey.. the official name of Mexico is Estados Unidos Mexicanos (Mexican United States), no Estados Unidos "de Mexico" (United States of Mexico)
Two questions:
1. Why if passengers will connect through Los Angeles you don`t offer any OD market from that airport
2. This is basically just selling SW and Volaris tickets together, it is not a codeshare, and it does not add a single flight to Mexico (given the current FAA tier 2 restrictions) ¿right?
I agree with the anonymous writer the stated that departures from and arrivals to chicago/midway would have very high sales. I was hoping to use this service already to have family visit in December. Please consider adding this city in one of the planned phases.
No flights from SAT to Mexico? Really? The number of Mexican nationals moving to SAT and people with family in Mexico is staggering. Plus, it would be such a short flight for someone from SAT to go to vacation in Mexico as well. Right now we have to take AA or Continental to Houston or Dallas to then go south. Is adding more Texas cities out of the question???
So when will Southwest encourage Volaris to come to the most populated part of Texas, Southwest's birthplace? Since the bankruptcy of Mexicana, our only real Dallas alternatives are American Airlines -- and Continental (delete, delete, delete) and VivaAerobus in Houston. Pretty sad.
If , is going to have a conections in El Paso, TX.
Why not, to fly , To Chihuahua City,. is a short. flight, and, It would be nice, and fancy, to land. on a 737 new , southwest, Jet, would be my dream.
Thanks. and best regards.
Will Chicago/Midway be a city included for Phase III? I'm sure it will have more travelers than Spokane and Portland combined.
Great news! Phase 1 should include Volaris adding flights from one or more key Texas cities so THEY can tap that market and SOUTHWEST can feed them traffic from the Midwest, Northeast, and Southeast. (e.g. MCO-SAT-Morelia or BWI-HOU-Guadalajara or MDW-SAT-Zacatecas).
Fares to Mexico -- especially any place not named Cancun or Mexico City -- have gone through the roof lately. There's plenty of profit out there. Grab it now before someone else does!
When Rapid Reward award tickets can be used, I would definately book...until then, no go. And...check your links...the press release links to the PR site that requires secure access--not too helpful to those of us not in the media.
This sounds great! Will flights be direct? For examply, SFO - CUN...would there be a stop in between? I've heard Virgin is going to start offering nonstop flights to Cancun from SFO and LAX...The only thing missing for me is SAN - CUN. :)