Southwest Airlines today said it notified Canada's WestJet that it would terminate an agreement to develop a codeshare, claiming WestJet made "significant changes" to the deal forged in 2008.
The termination of the agreement follows reports earlier this month that WestJet was planning to ditch Southwest in favor of a codeshare with Delta Air Lines
(BTNonline, April 1).
"We prefer the existing terms of our agreement with WestJet," Bob Jordan, Southwest's executive vice president of strategy and planning. "Upon reviewing the number of changes that WestJet has requested, we have decided that it is in the best interest of both parties to move forward independently. We remain interested in exploring the possibility of one day offering service to Canada if it makes sense for Southwest and for our customers. That would not rule out future codeshare relationships with Canadian carriers, or flying north of the border ourselves."
WestJet and Southwest in 2008 said they planned to enact a codeshare by the end of 2009, but the carriers put those plans on hold
(BTNonline, May 26, 2009).