Southwest Airlines’ cargo business goes international

July 17, 2018: Southwest Airlines Cargo has expanded its cargo business by officially starting international shipping.

The carrier now offers the ability to ship between the United States and Mexico City. Therefore, Mexico is its first international shipping destination.

Later this summer, the carrier intends to add the ability to ship between the US and Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, and Cabo San Lucas/Los Cabos before adding the ability to ship between the US and other international destinations within its network.

“Our teams have been hard at work getting ready for this historic milestone, and now we're set to take our Cargo services to places we've never been able to reach before,” said Matt Buckley, Southwest's vice president of Cargo and Charters.

“We can't wait to begin working with our customers on both sides of the border and play a small role to help businesses grow.”

“We applaud Southwest Airlines' decision to expand cargo operations between Mexico City and Houston Hobby Airport. This move takes advantage of Houston's growing logistics expertise and adds strength to the Houston economy,” said Mario Diaz, System director, Houston Airport.

This past spring, Southwest Cargo rolled out its new back office and point of sale system, Southwest Cargo Suite. The suite of products and Customer-facing solutions laid the foundation for this month's start of the carrier's international shipping programme.