It’s been a big year of changes for Southwest Airlines. So far in 2025, the budget carrier has ended some of its most iconic policies, like open seating and free checked bags. Now, the airline is laying the groundwork for another big change: more international flights.
On May 13, the Dallas-based airline submitted an application to the Department of Transportation (DOT) for a permit that would allow it to fly to new international destinations. The application seeks authorization for Southwest to operate “scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, property, and mail between the United States and all countries with which the United States has an Open-Skies agreement,” according to the filing.
Open-Skies agreements allow airlines to operate international flight routes to and from the signatory countries. There are more than 130 countries that have Open-Skies agreements with the U.S., according to the State Department, including nations throughout Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean, parts of Asia and Africa, and the South Pacific.
Theoretically, Southwest could fly to any of these 130+ countries in different regions around the globe if the DOT approves its new permit. The carrier already flies short-haul international routes close to North America, including to destinations in Latin America and the Caribbean. Its longest routes are actually domestic flights from California to Hawaii, which launched in 2019.
Currently, the airline’s fleet consists of just one type of plane: the Boeing 737. The newest version of the single-aisle jet, the 737 Max, has a maximum range of about 3,850 nautical miles. That means certain transatlantic routes and destinations deep into South America are comfortably within its fleet’s capability.
The company expects to receive more than three dozen 737 Max 8 jets in 2025. Earlier this year, Southwest CEO Bob Jordan hinted that the airline could be looking to fly to destinations that could require a different type of aircraft in the future. But the carrier is “not anywhere close to ready to talk about that,” Jordan said at the JP Morgan Industrials Conference in March.
Southwest said the application was "not necessarily indicative of anything forthcoming," according to Reuters. However, the filing comes at a time when U.S. budget airlines are struggling to make a profit, and larger mainstream carriers have said that long-haul international flights departing from the U.S. have been a key source of revenue.
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