Southwest Airlines and Icelandair’s New Partnership Is Now Live

Updated: March 18, 2025, 5:18pm CDT

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What Does Southwest and Icelandair’s New Partnership Mean For You?
Southwest and Icelandair Joint Itineraries Now Available for Booking
Final Thoughts

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Southwest Airlines, the world’s first modern low-cost airline, announced its first-ever airline partnership with Icelandair in January 2025. Now, this partnership is live, and if you’re a Southwest flyer interested in visiting Iceland, you’ll want to pay attention.

Let’s look at the details and what it could mean for your future travels.

What Does Southwest and Icelandair’s New Partnership Mean For You?

Now that the partnership is live, seamless connections between Southwest — the largest domestic airline in the U.S. — and Icelandair-operated flights are possible at Baltimore-Washington International (BWI).

This new partnership undoubtedly simplifies travel to Iceland. You are now able to book your Icelandair flight via Southwest’s website, check your luggage at your home airport, and rest assured that you won’t need to think about it again until you reach Reykjavík or another European destination.

An Icelandair Boeing 737 MAX 9 at Stockholm Arlanda — An Icelandair Boeing 737 MAX 9 at Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport (ARN). Image Credit: Daniel Ross

While you can now book flights through Icelandair, the ability to book flights with Southwest and redeem Southwest Rapid Rewards will come shortly.

According to a press release by Southwest:

“Eventually, Rapid Rewards Members also will have more opportunities to earn and redeem points for longer-haul international destinations with development of its airline partnerships and the evolution of its Getaways by Southwest product.”

Although we don’t know yet how Icelandair redemptions will look on the Southwest side, we now have clarity on the earning side. Members will earn points on Southwest-operated flights booked through Icelandair when they credit their travels to the Rapid Rewards program as follows:

1-1000 miles flown: 500 points
1,001 to 1,800 miles flown: 1,000 points
1,801+ miles flown: 1,500 points

These points will be considered as tier-qualifying points for A-List status and qualifying points towards earning the Companion Pass.

Bottom Line:

Southwest Airlines and Icelandair have officially launched a new partnership that enables passengers from both airlines to connect effortlessly between their networks. This initiative has begun with Baltimore (BWI) as the inaugural U.S. airport offering these connections, though Denver and Nashville will follow.

Southwest and Icelandair Joint Itineraries Now Available for Booking

Southwest Flyers can now book Southwest flights that connect in Baltimore-Washington (BWI) and proceed onward with Icelandair to Reykjavik (KEF). An example of a one-stop flight from Chicago Midway (MDW) to Reykjavik is available for $698 in Economy Standard, featuring a short connection at BWI.

Southwest Iceland Joint itineraries cost — Image Credit: Icelandair

When planning an itinerary that includes both carriers, Economy Standard is the lowest class of travel possible. While Icelandair provides a cheaper Economy Light fare, it will not appear as an option if at least one segment is flown by Southwest.

Another welcome addition to this new partnership is that Southwest travelers can now take advantage of Icelandair’s free stopover program. This allows you to stay in Iceland for up to 7 days while traveling to or from Europe. For example, you could fly from Baltimore to Iceland (KEF), stay for 7 days, and then continue to Dublin (DUB) on the same ticket.

Icelandair Southwest stopover itinerary — You can now book a Southwest and Icelandair joint itinerary and add a stopover of up to 7 days in Iceland.

Final Thoughts

While we’re still curious about when Southwest Rapid Rewards members will be able to redeem points for flights to Iceland with Icelandair, we are ecstatic about this new partnership. It should deliver more seamless connectivity for U.S. passengers flying to Iceland and beyond. Additionally, it will provide more ways to earn Rapid Rewards points and, in the future, redeem them.