Slot Proposal Puts Southwest-WestJet Codeshare in Jeopardy

The codesharing pact between WestJet and Southwest is in jeopardy, a Southwest executive acknowledged Thursday.

WestJet, which Delta says is ready to receive slot pairs at New York’s LaGuardia Airport as part of a proposed deal with US Airways, recently made new demands that Southwest will not meet, said Bob Jordan, Southwest’s executive vice president of strategy and planning in a statement.

However, WestJet has yet to confirm a slot deal or that the Canadian carrier is ready to terminate its proposed codeshare with Southwest, Jordan said. The two airlines are slated to launch codeshare operations this year.

In the same statement, Southwest acknowledged it had “learned from media reports this week” about the slot transfer and that “WestJet apparently intends to enter into a codeshare agreement with Delta.”

Such a codeshare “could be inconsistent with the agreement” Southwest and WestJet already have in place, said Southwest. The Southwest-WestJet agreement was moving along according to the timetable set by the two airlines, Southwest said. If the Southwest-WestJet agreement does not move forward, Southwest said the airline still “remains very interested” in serving Canada.