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Philippine Airlines’ expansion in the US is finally taking off with Southwest Airlines being an interline partner. In November this year, PAL inked an interline agreement with Southwest Airlines to make travel seamless beyond its primary gateways in the US. It enables Filipinos to book their single-PNR flights from Philippines to US airports in tier 2 and 3 cities. Filipino Americans and other immigrants from across the US can now easily connect to nonstop PAL flights to Manila through SFO, LAX, and SEA airports.
Benefits of PAL–Southwest partnership for travelers
Now passengers of nonstop Manila to SFO flights have seamless connections to the US cities where Philippine Airlines does not directly fly to. The same applies to those flying from Manila to Seattle with their final destinations located elsewhere in the US. The PAL-Southwest partnership facilitates single-ticket journeys to the final destination in the United States through Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and Honolulu.
Precisely, you can book flights between USA and Philippines with seamless domestic travel to/from Chicago, Phoenix, Austin, Houston, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Detroit, Denver, Charlotte, Boston, and other US cities. It eliminates the hassles of booking Southwest Airlines’ tickets separately and the worries about Southwest Airlines’ paid baggage allowance in the US. On top of that, Philippine Airlines’ checked baggage allowance (according to your travel class and fare type) applies to your domestic leg with Southwest Airlines.
EVA Air and China Airlines also partnered with Southwest
It seems that Southwest Airlines is an emerging populist carrier feeding international flights to and from USA. Other Asian carriers, like China Airlines and EVA Air operating flights between USA and Taiwan, have chosen Southwest Airlines as their interline partner. In August 2025, EVA Air signed an interline agreement with Southwest, allowing its travelers to fly far and wide in the US through LAX, SFO, ORD and SeaTac airports. China Airlines’ interline partnership with Southwest will take effect in January 2026.
Southwest’s new wheelchair policy applies to Philippine Airlines
Starting in 2026, Southwest Airlines will end its long-criticized wheelchair-first boarding policy. As a result, passengers transferring from Philippine Airlines to Southwest’s domestic flights within the US will no longer receive priority boarding at US airports. However, Southwest Airlines will continue to provide wheelchair assistance across its network.
