Taiwanese carrier Starlux and US-based airline Alaska Airlines (NYSE: ALK) have elected to expand their codeshare agreement, which will now allow travelers to book single-ticket journeys from Taipei to destinations across the United States via Alaska’s connecting hubs in Seattle and San Francisco. This expanded partnership offers access to twelve new cities, including Minneapolis, Atlanta, Orlando, Washington Dulles, Philadelphia, Boise, and Newark.
This deal’s inclusion of seamless booking, coordinated check-in, protected connection, and baggage transfers makes it exceptionally appealing to customers. Starlux loyalty program members will now be able to redeem miles on Alaska-operated flights, while broader loyalty integration remains implied. This partnership amplifies Starlux’s North American reach beyond the handful of cities it currently serves. Its network is only set to grow further when it launches flights to and from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) on January 15, 2026.
A Deeper Look At The Partnership’s Specifics
The expanded codeshare agreement between Starlux and Alaska Airlines links a total of 20 US cities to Taipei on a single booked ticket, funneling traffic through Alaska’s principal hubs at Seattle Tacoma International Airport (SEA) and San Francisco International Airport (SFO). The following cities are all listed as new codeshare points that passengers can access through Alaska’s network:
Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP)
Atlanta (ATL)
Tampa (TPA)
Anchorage (ANC)
Raleigh-Durham (RDU)
Orlando (MCO)
Washington Dulles (IAD)
Kansas City (MCO)
Philadelphia (PHL)
Spokane (GEG)
Boise (BOI)
Newark (EWR)
These new codeshares offer passengers a variety of benefits, including coordinated check-in processes and protected connections. The thorough checking of bags further adds to the overall convenience. Passengers can now book these flights through Starlux’s website and apps. These destinations add to an existing set of codeshare destinations, which include the following cities:
Salt Lake City (SLC)
San Diego (SAN)
Phoenix (PHX)
Portland (PDX)
Las Vegas (LAS)
Dallas (DFW)
Denver (DEN)
Austin (AUS)
What Does This New Partnership Offer Alaska Airlines?
This partnership brings a lot to the table for Alaska Airlines. For starters, Alaska’s hubs in Seattle and San Francisco can now comfortably feed traffic from Taipei to 20 different US cities, a move that lifts load factors, smooths seasonality, and improves schedule utility for airline corporate accounts. Single-ticket itineraries with protected connections reduce self-connection leakage and enable better proration yields as opposed to standalone sales.
Distribution will continue to expand through Alaska’s channels and travel agency relationships, boosting overall brand awareness beyond just Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and Ontario, which are Starlux’s current US gateways. From an operational perspective, coordinating check-in, through-bags, and maintaining a well-oiled recovery machine will all help Alaska prepare for its upcoming expansion into many different long-haul markets, according to Yahoo Finance.
The loyalty upside for Alaska Airlines is immense, and Starlux miles being redeemed on Alaska-operated flights significantly improves program awareness and the potential monetization of premium-cabin revenues. From a strategic perspective, this move further helps Alaska discipline its fleet and capitalize on a variety of fleet growth initiatives. At the end of the day, for an airline like Alaska, the addition of more partnerships is always better. The carrier is looking to become a big player on the global stage, and doing so will require the company to expand its connectivity across markets.
What Does This New Partnership Offer Starlux?
At the end of the day, this partnership brings a lot to the table for Starlux. This Taiwanese carrier is looking to expand rapidly into multiple new kinds of markets, especially those that have large amounts of demand for travel to and from East Asia, or those that are home to a large Taiwanese diaspora.
Alaska Airlines’ network allows Starlux to expand its reach beyond its handful of continental entry points in order to access destinations deeper into the United States. This makes Starlux’s service more valuable, as it opens up easy access for passengers to destinations all across the United States.
Starlux is looking to become a global carrier, one that is able to maintain a strong reputation in an industry that has historically been dominated by other players. As a result, the airline needs to partner with others to build its footprint in the market, and this partnership allows the airline to do so very effectively.