Air Premia, South Korea’s pioneering hybrid service carrier (HSC), has announced a strategic interline partnership with Southwest Airlines. The milestone agreement establishes Air Premia as the first South Korean airline to secure an interlining relationship with the largest domestic carrier in the United States, unlocking extensive transpacific travel combinations.
Through the unified ticketing setup, Air Premia passengers can now travel on a single integrated itinerary to more than 120 destinations spread across Southwest’s vast North American flight network.
Strategic West Coast Hub Connections and Expanded Routing Options
Both these airlines will coordinate their services from the following three important hubs in the Pacific region/West Coast, which include LAX, SFO, and HNL. Coordination of the services of both airlines facilitates passengers coming from South Korea to make connections in flights for the cities that do not have any direct flight connections from East Asia. The cities that the passengers can visit under this route include Las Vegas, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, Denver, Portland, and Nashville.
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Southwest Airlines being the leading airline in domestic American air transport, has an extensive flight network covering all of the United States and international connections to eleven countries in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. The newly formed partnership helps Air Premia expand their connections beyond the U.S. West Coast and gives an additional exposure to Southwest Airlines among Korean and East Asian travelers.
Streamlining the Connecting Passenger Experience
In order to facilitate smooth transfers, the airlines have coordinated their luggage check-in procedures through the regulatory framework. Under the laws of U.S. Customs and Border Protection for entering into the country, travelers from South Korea who are connecting to an onward domestic U.S. flight will need to collect their baggage and pass through the U.S. customs at their point of entry (LAX, SFO, or HNL).
On the other hand, travelers on the outgoing flights that originate from a domestic Southwest Airlines flight and connecting to Air Premia’s international flight can check their bags all the way to their final destination in South Korea without any need for rechecking midway.
“We are delighted to partner with Southwest Airlines, one of the largest domestic carriers in the United States,” said Yoo Myung-sub, Chief Executive Officer of Air Premia. This partnership significantly expands travel opportunities for our customers, providing seamless access to more than 120 destinations across the Southwest network. We look forward to expanding this partnership and delivering even greater convenience and value to travelers across the Pacific.”
“Similar to Southwest, Air Premia works to pair value and comfort with high-quality service for everyone onboard,” said Andrew Watterson, Southwest Airlines Chief Operating Officer. “Air Premia becomes our latest partner in a portfolio that not only provides more potential global travel options for Southwest Customers, it also exposes more marketplaces overseas to our unmatched network in the United States and our world-famous Hospitality.”