Southwest Airlines & China Airlines Unveil Partnership: Big Deal?

Southwest Airlines is currently undergoing a major transformation, which includes charging for checked bags, introducing assigned and extra legroom seating, etc. It goes beyond that, though, as Southwest is also increasingly launching airline partnerships.

Earlier this year, we saw Southwest launch its first partnership with Icelandair, and now Southwest’s second airline partner has been revealed.

Southwest & China Airlines plan interline agreement

Southwest Airlines has announced a new interline agreement with China Airlines, which will specifically provide connectivity at China Airlines’ gateways on the West Coast of the United States. Connections bookable with this agreement will go on sale as of later in 2025, for flights as of early 2026.

Here’s how Southwest describes this development, in an announcement:

As we continue our mission to bring more choices to our Customers, we’re thrilled to announce our newest interline partnership with China Airlines (CAL), a Taiwan-based carrier. This agreement brings the opportunity for China Airlines’ customers to experience our renowned Southwest hospitality. Initially, China Airline Customers will be able to seamlessly connect from their west coast destination points at Los Angeles (LAX), San Francisco (SFO), Ontario (ONT), and Seattle (SEA), on through to our Southwest network. Published connections should go on sale later in 2025, with service operating in early 2026. Keep an eye out for more details as we continue to develop our trans-Pacific airline partnerships.

Is this new partnership a big deal?

Is Southwest partnering with China Airlines a significant development? Yes and no.

It’s significant for a couple of reasons, if you ask me. First of all, it’s Southwest’s first partner across the Pacific, so I’d say that’s pretty noteworthy, just on principle. I’d also say it’s noteworthy because it really reflects how the partnership between China Airlines and Delta really isn’t close, despite both airlines being in SkyTeam.

China Airlines theoretically already has a lot of connectivity at most of these gateways, thanks to Delta’s presence (with the exception being Ontario, where Southwest has a much bigger presence). But Delta not really caring much about its non-equity partners is nothing new.

However, I’d say that this partnership isn’t significant for the simple reason that all we’re seeing here is an interline agreement. This is literally the most basic level of cooperation two airlines can have. There’s no codeshare agreement, or loyalty collaboration, or anything. The interline agreement simply make sit possible to book a ticket that includes travel on both airlines.

This development won’t have a material impact on the bottom line of either carrier. However, it’s clear that Southwest’s current partner strategy is that something is better than nothing, and that the airline is easing its way into more significant partnerships in the future.

So while these are fun to see for now, I’m really curious to see when Southwest starts to develop more significant partnerships with more perks and more exclusivity.

Bottom line

Southwest Airlines and China Airlines have announced plans to partner. The two airlines will be launching an interline agreement, which means that it’ll be possible to book itineraries involving travel on both airlines on a single ticket.

For now, this is a very basic level of cooperation, though it’ll be interesting to see how it evolves over time. This is certainly an interesting second partner for Southwest, given that China Airlines is in SkyTeam.

What do you make of Southwest & China Airlines partnering?