Southwest and China Airlines mull interline agreement
June 2, 2025
Southwest Airlines is preparing to take its first steps across the Pacific, with plans underway to form an interline partnership with Taiwan’s China Airlines.
The move would mark the US carrier’s first formal collaboration with an Asia-based airline and is expected to bring new long-haul connection options to its primarily domestic customer base.
The proposed tie-up is scheduled to begin in early 2026, with ticket sales for joint itineraries likely to open before the end of this year.
Executives from both airlines met in India this week during the International Air Transport Association’s Annual General Meeting to jointly reveal the plan.
“We’re on a journey to bring more choices to our customers. This initial work to partner with Taiwan-based China Airlines would allow for seamless trans-Pacific journeys across the Southwest network, furthering the reach of our vision and purpose – to connect people with important moments in their lives,” said Andrew Watterson, Chief Operating Officer at Southwest Airlines.
“As the largest carrier of domestic Passengers in the United States, we also carry more people to, from, and within California than any other airline and expect Southwest customers could benefit immediately from having access to connections overseas through China Airlines.”
The interline arrangement would allow customers to book a single itinerary covering both airlines. The partnership would offer China Airlines access to Southwest’s expansive US domestic footprint, particularly in California where Southwest leads the market. China Airlines, which already serves Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and Ontario (California), is actively growing its North American gateway network and sees this collaboration as a natural extension of that effort.
“Growing our long-haul network always has been China Airlines’ long-term plan. As we expand our gateway operations in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle, as well as Ontario, California, we are pleased to include Southwest as one of our partners with its unique network that further expands North American connection opportunities into the Midwest and toward the East Coast,” said Kevin Chen, President at China Airlines.
“In the future, customers may book China Airlines and Southwest Airlines itineraries under one ticket and enjoy seamless travel experiences. We believe this complementary cooperation will enhance travel options for our customers and improve connectivity to Asia for travellers in the domestic US market.”
