Southwest Partners With Japanese Airline ANA for Improved Connectivity to Japan

Updated: June 14, 2026, 8:11am CDT

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What Southwest and ANA’s New Partnership Means for You
Final Thoughts

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Southwest is at it again. The ultra-low-cost carrier is adding another airline partner. This time, it’s Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways (ANA).

“This partnership opens up more opportunities for customers to explore the world,” said Jason Behrens, global account manager at Southwest.

Let’s take a look at what we know so far about Southwest’s newest partnership.

What Southwest and ANA’s New Partnership Means for You

Adding international airline partners is a fairly new phenomenon for Southwest. The addition of ANA brings the number of new partners to 7 — all launched since 2025.

Regions in focus so far are Europe and Asia, with ANA marking Southwest’s fourth partnership with an Asia-based carrier.

The partnership includes what’s known as an interline agreement. This means both Southwest and ANA passengers will be able to book select connecting itineraries that include flights with both airlines. Passengers can book a single ticket and won’t need a separate check-in or need to claim luggage during their connection, for example.

To start with, this will include connecting itineraries at Chicago (ORD), Honolulu (HNL), Los Angeles (LAX), San Francisco (SFO), Seattle (SEA), and Washington D.C. (IAD). This will make it easier for travelers heading to Japan who don’t have a local airport with nonstop flights.

Southwest 737 Gold at HNL Honolulu Hawaii airport Image Credit Chris Hassan 2 — Connecting from a Southwest to an ANA flight will now be possible at Honolulu (HNL). Image Credit: Chris Hassan

For example, thanks to the partnership, it will be possible to book a flight from Austin (AUS) to Los Angeles (LAX) with Southwest and a flight from Los Angeles (LAX) to Tokyo (HND) with ANA on a single ticket.

Despite a LinkedIn post by Behrens stating that the itineraries are already available for purchase, I was unable to find any options on ANA or Southwest’s websites.

Future developments of this very new partnership will likely include the ability to use Southwest Rapid Rewards points to book redemption tickets on connecting itineraries to Japan, also involving flights with ANA.

According to a separate LinkedIn post by Robert Cobles Cortes, regional international manager at Southwest, more airline partnership announcements are on the horizon. ANA joins China Airlines, Condor, EVA Airways, Icelandair, Philippine Airlines, and Turkish Airlines.

Hot Tip:

If you’re a frequent Southwest Airlines flyer and want to increase your points balance for potential flights to Japan, you might consider adding one of the airline’s co-branded credit cards to your wallet.

Final Thoughts

Southwest’s latest airline partnership should hopefully mean some new ways to redeem miles for flights to Japan — though that’s not possible yet. Right now, the airlines are just offering the possibility to book an interline ticket for connecting flights across the 2 carriers on a single itinerary.

We look forward to learning which airlines are next on Southwest’s list and the travel possibilities that will open up as a result.