Is Southwest Airlines Planning International Expansion, Or...?

I feel like Mexico is a logical expansion

I avoid Southwest because their miles won’t get me to places in Europe, Asia, Africa, and other international destinations. Their not being part of an airline alliance makes me not want to fly them either.

I think Southwest’s Open Skies filing isn’t just about codeshares—it’s a quiet power move to challenge Delta on a broader scale. They’ve already humiliated Delta at Love Field, boxing them out and dominating the local market. Now they’re using 14 CFR Part 212 and 49 U.S. Code § 40109 to get global route rights without actually committing to flying those routes themselves. This gives them the legal cover to partner broadly, sell international tickets through their platform, and keep the customer in their ecosystem—even if someone else operates the long-haul leg. That’s a direct threat to Delta’s international feed. If I’m Delta, I’m watching this closely—because Southwest just got the regulatory tools to start skimming off global traffic while still flying nothing but 737s.

@NickW aka Tim Dunn, you do not need to use this account anymore because Ben has already unbanned your Tim Dunn account unless you just want to make it seem like there are others that love Delta as much as you do. We all know that it’s you because of the way you write which shows your adamant desire to defend and worship DL. Your adoration for Delta is axiomatic for everyone to see.

They are absolutely going to start moving into South America. It's an easy progression. Like GOL they will use the MAX to grab markets in NE Brazil as one example. As well, look towards Columbia, Ecuador, etc. Will it be lucrative? I have no clue. But they do have a brand to potentially market to these places. Especially those cities with limited service. I would expect FLL and TPA to be the markets that benefit the most from this.

They need to do something. They are running out of options for growth. This would be the natural.

But they already serve four cities in Mexico. How is it an expansion?

Dude, read the comment. It's clearly not Tim Dunn, it is intelligent, and not at all one sided. It's actually the opposite. You are coming out just as obsessed as such.

There are more than four cities in Mexico.

There are destinations in Central and South America and even a few in Western Europe the 738MAX could make.

As mentioned, WN is in a bit of a bind while it looks to expand its footprint. Its foray into Hawaii has been a mixed bag. And the MAX had limited range compared to a A321NEO or LR. Therefore, a WN hop across the Pond is highly unlikely. Even JetBlue is experiencing some remorse with its Euro footprint. As for direct Latin America service, it is somewhat limited due to service already provide by DL, AA, UA, & B6.
The application is more likely to pad its bets to support foreign carriers by providing domestic carry forward service.

They seem to be copying Frontier and maybe JetBlue serving place abit further out than just the Caribean and Central America. Still waiting for Southwest to serve Toronto and Vancouver.

@Antwerp just go look at NickW’s previous comments and compare it with Tim Dunn’s timed comments and you can see why. And yeah, that profile photo sure looks real. It looks as real as the photo that comes with the photo frame that you can purchase at the department stores. You must be joking if you think NickW’s comments are nothing like Tim’s. They write in the same style.

@Antwerp Have you noticed from previous comments that NickW would only ever make comments about Delta and even make comments about Delta when the article has nothing to do with DL at all. Sounds very TD to me.

Canada (Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal) would be at the top of my wish list.

It's fascinating to observe just how much Tim Dunn has broken the brains of so many people on this site.

When he's here, they obsess over him.
When he's banned, they obsess over him.
When he's not even commenting on a topic, they make it about him.
When he does stay on topic, they bait him, then cry if he takes the bait.

I'm honestly not sure Tim Dunn is (or maybe ever truly was) the actual problem, at this point. It's as if the concept of letting him say his bit (whenever he's actually present), then leaving him alone and not engaging, is too difficult for them to comprehend.

The WN expansion to MEX was a disaster. Big problems with their distribution, no presence in travel agencies, inability to accept Mexican issued credit cards.
WN does not need a repeat of Mexico City.
WN should stay focused on their amazing destinations like Midland and Brownsville which is the core of the airline.

Southwest's privacy policy, updated this year, mentions EU and UK privacy laws. Perhaps this might hint at where they plan to expand internationally?