Southwest Airlines has named Philippine Airlines (PAL) as its newest partner carrier, while continuing to explore new transatlantic partnerships for later this year.
“Each airline partnership brings unique and incremental reach to places around the globe for both carriers,” Southwest COO Andrew Watterson said in revealing the newest interline. “With nearly 90 flights a day in our schedule that touch the Hawaiian Islands and as California’s largest air carrier, Southwest is positioned like no other airline in serving Philippine Airlines’ passengers arriving or departing the United States.”
In the U.S., the two carriers will look to serve international travelers connecting through Los Angeles (LAX), Seattle/Tacoma (SEA), San Francisco (SFO), and Honolulu, Oahu (HNL).
As it works to expand its reach, Dallas-based Southwest has so far announced interlines with Icelandair and Taiwan-based carriers China Airlines and EVA Air.
Southwest also has an agreement with Hahnair, under which the distribution provider will grant ticketing access to 100,000 travel agencies in 190 markets outside the U.S. That partnership “allows for the sale of Southwest tickets in geographies where we don’t fly today, in local currencies,” Watterson said in late October.
Southwest’s partnership with PAL was announced Nov. 4. Based in Manila, the flag carrier operates scheduled nonstop flights out of hubs in Manila, Cebu, Clark, and Davao to 31 destinations in the Philippines and 38 destinations in Asia, North America, Australia, and the Middle East. Speaking during a recent Routes World 2025 panel discussion, PAL President Richard Nuttall described the carrier’s next phase of growth as focused on product and service upgrades to strengthen its long-haul offering. He noted growing demand for premium and international travel from the region.
“Our interline partnership with Southwest Airlines enables seamless connections and single-ticket journeys across both of our networks,” VP-Revenue Management Christoph Gaertner said. “As we continue to expand PAL’s global reach, this collaboration provides more travel options and greater flexibility, giving our guests access to a wider range of destinations in the United States.”
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