Southwest Adds Philippine Airlines Interline Partner

Southwest Airlines announced a new interline partnership with Philippine Airlines on November 4, 2025, adding a fresh pathway for U.S. travelers heading to, from, or across Asia. The tie-up enables single-ticket itineraries and through-checked baggage across both carriers, with planned connections at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), San Francisco International Airport (SFO), Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), and Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL). Bookings are live through Philippine Airlines and select third-party sites, expanding routing choices without requiring travelers to stitch together separate tickets themselves.

Southwest's expanding partner web

Southwest has been steadily building a small but useful set of international interline links to extend its domestic footprint. Philippine Airlines becomes the fourth such partner, joining Icelandair, China Airlines, and EVA Air. Each arrangement lets passengers connect between a long-haul partner flight and Southwest's U.S. network on a single ticket, typically with bags checked through and standard misconnection protections provided by the issuing carrier's rules.

Latest developments

In its announcement, Southwest highlighted that the PAL partnership is intended to "connect transoceanic travelers" with dozens of new routings available now, specifically through the four U.S. gateways. Philippine Airlines, for its part, emphasized "seamless connections and single-ticket journeys" across the combined networks. While Southwest has enabled earning with some partners booked via those partners' channels, it has not announced Rapid Rewards accrual or redemption for PAL, so travelers should assume no mileage benefits until the carriers publish details.

Analysis

For U.S. flyers, the practical upsides are simpler ticketing and fewer baggage touchpoints on trips that pair a Southwest domestic leg with a PAL trans-Pacific segment. The designated connection points, LAX, SFO, SEA, and HNL, already carry heavy Asia-bound traffic, so the interline mainly formalizes what many travelers were attempting on their own with separate tickets, and replaces that risk with the protections that come with a single itinerary. It also gives Southwest incremental access to passengers bound for Manila and onward Southeast Asia, while Philippine Airlines gains broader feed beyond its U.S. gateways.

Background, how interline works An interline agreement is a basic cooperation that lets two airlines place segments on one ticket and transfer checked baggage between them. It is not a codeshare, which would place one carrier's code on the other's flight and often includes deeper loyalty benefits. With interline, the operating airline rules usually govern baggage and disruptions on the first ticketing carrier's document. For this partnership, Philippine Airlines indicates single-ticket journeys and through-check, while general PAL baggage rules reference the "most significant carrier" principle on multi-carrier trips. Travelers should verify allowance and fees at purchase, and keep in mind that mileage earning or redemption across programs may not apply unless explicitly stated.

From a planning standpoint, Honolulu's role is noteworthy, because many Southwest itineraries within Hawaii can connect into PAL's Honolulu services, creating shorter trans-Pacific options for some origin points. On the West Coast, the Los Angeles and San Francisco gateways provide multiple daily domestic arrivals from Southwest, which increases schedule flexibility and same-day connection resilience. Seattle adds redundancy for the Pacific Northwest. When pricing, compare against alternative U.S. partners that PAL maintains, since benefits such as elite recognition or mileage earning can differ by carrier.

Final thoughts

Southwest adds Philippine Airlines as an interline partner, widening single-ticket choices for U.S.-Asia travel via Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and Honolulu. Until loyalty specifics are published, treat the new option as a convenience play for ticketing and baggage, and continue to shop fares against other carriers that also connect with PAL.

Sources

• Southwest Airlines and Philippine Airlines Launch Partnership
• Southwest Airlines and Philippine Airlines Launch Partnership (PR Newswire)
• Airline Partnerships, Southwest
• Support: Southwest Interlining Partners
• Southwest, Philippine Airlines Partner, Business Travel News