Southwest Responds to WestJet’s Possible Bail

When WestJet revealed on Tuesday that it would most likely abandon a proposed codeshare with Southwest in favor of a similar agreement with Delta, it seemed only a matter of time before Southwest weighed in on the matter.

The inevitable response came yesterday. Take it away, Southwest!

“The Southwest/WestJet project was on target in accordance with a mutually agreed upon timetable,” said Bob Jordan, Southwest’s Executive Vice President of Strategy and Planning. “However, WestJet in recent weeks requested material and significant changes to our agreement that we could not accept. We are, and always have been, prepared to move forward to implement our agreement with WestJet. We have not yet been notified of WestJet’s intent to terminate that agreement. If we are so notified in order for WestJet to consummate its deal with Delta, Southwest remains very interested in offering our loyal Customers service to Canada via the most efficient means possible.”

That’s a bit different from WestJet’s take on the situation, which is basically that Southwest isn’t ready to support a codeshare. Delta, however, is, and presents a tantalizing route network for WestJet to glom onto.

At the moment, Southwest and WestJet do still have a deal in place. Judging from the tone of Southwest’s response, however, that may not be the case for too long.