Klarna has partnered with Southwest Airlines to offer flexible payment options to US travellers booking flights from later this year.
Starting later in 2026, travellers booking through Southwest.com and the Southwest app will be able to choose from several payment methods at checkout, including paying in full, splitting the cost into four interest-free instalments, or financing a trip over a longer period.
According to research cited by the companies, more than one in four Americans say they are more likely to complete a booking when flexible payment options are available at checkout. The partnership positions Klarna's instalment and financing tools within the booking flow for one of the US airlines with a large domestic passenger base; Southwest reported serving over 134 million customers in 2025.
David Sykes, Chief Commercial Officer at Klarna, said the company aims to give travellers more choice in how they pay when booking a long weekend trip or a longer journey, describing the airline as a fitting partner given its history in commercial aviation. In addition, Corbitt Burns, Managing Director Loyalty & CoBrand at Southwest Airlines, said the airline is focused on giving customers more choice when booking flights, adding that the addition of Klarna's payment options provides another way for customers to book while travelling with the airline.
For Klarna, the agreement extends its presence in the travel sector, an area in which the company has been expanding its network of merchant partnerships. At the same time, the company states that it serves 119 million consumers across 26 countries, offering a range of financial products spanning flexible payments, savings, and spending tools. The Southwest partnership adds a large-scale US airline to that merchant network, giving Klarna's payment methods visibility among a broad base of domestic air travellers.
Timeline and implementation
The companies have not specified an exact launch date beyond stating that the new payment options will roll out `later this year`. Once implemented, the checkout options will be available directly within Southwest's existing digital booking channels, meaning customers will not need a separate application or account setup beyond Klarna's standard checkout process to access the instalment or financing options.
The partnership reflects a broader trend of airlines and travel providers integrating buy-now-pay-later and instalment financing into ticket purchases, as providers look to reduce upfront cost barriers at the point of booking. For Southwest, the addition follows other efforts by US carriers to diversify payment options available to customers, while for Klarna it represents a further step in building out its position within travel-related payments alongside its existing retail and merchant partnerships.
