In a year of significant changes, Southwest Airlines is making another big announcement.
The Dallas-based budget carrier is planning to launch a new interline partnership with Taiwanese carrier China Airlines. The two airlines are currently in discussions to launch the partnership in 2026, with the interline connections going live later this year. The new agreement would allow travelers to book connecting flights on Southwest and China Airlines as one itinerary, enabling smoother travel between the United States and Asia.
“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, Southwest’s chief operating officer.
The two airlines’ networks complement each other, with Watterson noting that Southwest is “the largest carrier of domestic Passengers in the United States” and that the airline carries “more people to, from, and within California than any other airline.” At the same time, China Airlines is expanding its routes on the West Coast of the U.S., including in cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and 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.”
This is the second airline partnership Southwest has launched this year with an international airline. Earlier in 2025, it launched a similar agreement with Icelandair, which allows fliers to book flights with both carriers on one itinerary that connects through Denver, Nashville, and Baltimore-Washington and will expand this summer to include connections in Orlando, Pittsburgh, and Raleigh-Durham.
Southwest, which has made notable changes this year such as beginning to assign seats to passengers and charging for checked bags, also started rumors a few weeks ago when it filed paperwork with the Department of Transportation that would allow it to operate more international routes.
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