Southwest plans partnership with China Airlines for ‘seamless’ travel

Southwest Airlines has signed an agreement with China Airlines that by 2026 will give Southwest customers the ability to book seamless travel to destinations in Asia, Europe and Australia.

The airlines announced the partnership Monday in New Delhi, India, where executives from both companies are meeting at the International Air Transport Association 2025 annual general meeting.

Southwest is the busiest commercial air carrier at Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International Airport.

Taiwan-based China Airlines flies to 102 Asian destinations, including five in Taiwan, 38 in Europe and eight in Australia and New Zealand.

Once the partnership is finalized, customers will be able to book China Airlines and Southwest Airlines itineraries under one ticket and enjoy seamless travel experiences.

“We’re on a journey to bring more choices to our customers,” Andrew Watterson, Southwest’s chief operating officer, said in a release. “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. As the largest carrier of domestic passengers in the United States, we also carry more people to, from, and within California than any other airline1 and expect Southwest customers could benefit immediately from having access to connections overseas through China Airlines.”

Southwest, which rarely partners in interline agreements, has a similar relationship with Icelandair that uses that carrier as a gateway to Europe via Baltimore-Washington, Nashville and Denver. In mid-July, Icelandair will add Orlando, Pittsburgh and Raleigh-Durham as domestic gateways. The China Airlines agreement is expected to link Southwest customers via Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle, as well as Ontario, California.

In other airline news, Frontier Airlines on Monday launched its nonstop, round-trip service between Reid International and Paine Field International Airport near Everett, Washington, but changed flight frequency from the original March announcement.

The Denver-based airline announced the route to the secondary Seattle airport with flights Mondays and Fridays. Originally, Frontier said it would also fly the route Wednesdays. In addition to Las Vegas, Paine Field flights are planned to and from Phoenix and Denver.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.