Another week, another new partner for Southwest Airlines.
The Dallas-based airline announced Tuesday a new partnership with German leisure airline Condor.
Like all new Southwest partnerships, the one with Condor will start small but will ultimately provide Rapid Rewards loyalists with new connections to Europe.
Southwest Airlines and Condor Airlines: What to know
Headquartered in Frankfurt, Condor is known for its colorful, striped aircraft and provides an outstanding inflight experience on transatlantic flights. These include offering a true lie-flat business class experience at the front of the plane, something TPG’s Eric Rosen experimented with earlier this year.
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As part of Southwest’s new partnership with Condor Airlines, you’ll be able to book a trip that connects between the two airlines. The partnership will focus on flights between Condor’s Frankfurt Airport (FRA) hub in Germany and six U.S. gateways, including:
- Boston Logan International Airport (BOS)
- Las Vegas Harry Reid International Airport (LAS)
- Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
- Portland International Airport (PDX), Oregon
- San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
- Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA)
The two airlines’ joint itineraries will launch on January 19, and passengers traveling on Southwest Condor flights will see their checked bags transferred from one aircraft to the other, just like any connecting itinerary.
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What you need to know about booking
From the beginning, you could only book these combined Southwest-Condor trips through Condor’s website and certain third-party sites like Expedia.
However, Southwest Airlines plans to start offering booking services to partners through its own channels in 2026.
And Southwest has made it clear: It wants to eventually allow its loyalty members to earn and redeem points through its international partners. If that happens with Condor, it could provide Rapid Rewards members with significant new opportunities to travel to Europe and even Africa.
Southwest’s growing list of partners
Notably, Southwest already has a partnership with Icelandair, which also has a strong presence in Europe. Last year, the airline also signed interline agreements with Taiwan’s China Airlines, EVA Air and Philippine Airlines.
bottom line
Condor seems like a good fit to partner with Southwest in Europe because the airline focuses primarily on leisure travelers and, like Southwest, it’s not part of any major global airline alliance and therefore doesn’t have deep ties to any of its top U.S. competitors.
In other words: Southwest Airlines is not actually first American Airlines, which Condor works with. The airline has partnered with Alaska Airlines for several years, and the airline’s Atmos rewards program already offers partner award redemptions on its flights.
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