Southwest Airlines has entered into its fourth partnership with an international airline.
The airline announced a new partnership with Philippine Airlines on Tuesday. As part of the interline agreement, you will be able to book itineraries that include seamless connections between Southwest Airlines and Manila Airlines.
Eventually, the partnership may open up fast reward redemptions to destinations in Australia, Southeast Asia and the South Pacific.
Southwest Airlines partners with Philippine Airlines
The new partnership follows Southwest launching similar arrangements with Icelandair, China Airlines and EVA Air earlier this year.
As with these partnerships, PAL’s set-up will have some limitations from the start. Currently, you can only book Southwest Philippine Airlines United itineraries through the Philippine Airlines website or certain third-party booking platforms like Expedia.
Customers will be able to connect through one of four “gateways” operated by the two airlines:
- Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
- San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
- Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA)
- Daniel Inouye International Airport (HNL)
So, you can fly Southwest Airlines at Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) in Las Vegas, fly to HNL in Honolulu, and then transfer to a Philippine Airlines flight to Ninoy Aquino International Airport (MNL) in Manila.
Related: Current Southwest Credit Card Sign-up Bonuses
Reward your inbox with the TPG daily newsletter
Join over 700,000 readers and get breaking news, in-depth guides and exclusive offers from TPG experts
How about quick reward redemption?
Something to note: You won’t be able to earn (or redeem) Rapid Rewards points on these trips…at least for now.
However, Southwest executives said they hope to expand many of these international partnerships in the near future to allow points to be earned and redeemed as a way for customers to use Southwest points around the world.
So this partnership (and others like it) may be a more attractive option for Southwest loyalists in the future — at least from a points perspective.
“Each airline partnership brings unique and incremental global service to both airlines and gives more consumers the opportunity to start or end their journey with Southwest,” Southwest Chief Operating Officer Andrew Watterson said in a statement Tuesday.
Read more: A real Southwest reboot is coming — and it could be just the beginning
Growing list of partners
Southwest Airlines is Philippine Airlines’ second new U.S. airline partner. Earlier this year, Philippine Airlines announced a partnership with Alaska Airlines. Through this arrangement, Atmos Rewards members can redeem their points for flights to Manila and other locations in the South Pacific.
In addition to LAX, SFO, SEA and HNL, PAL’s U.S. route map includes Guam’s Antonio W. Pat International Airport (GUM) and New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK).
The airline currently does not belong to any of the world’s three major airline alliances.
As for Southwest, the airline said Tuesday it was “actively exploring” additional transatlantic partnerships “later this year.”
So far, three of its first four partners are trans-Pacific carriers.
Related reading:
