American Airlines, of the big 3 American carriers, is the one that has the weakest international presence. Also with its current fleet it is difficult to power up or boost its transpacific and transatlantic services. Therefore to offer improved connectivity to its passengers in the short term the best option is to seek agreements with airlines in other regions of the world. This is also the case with the new codeshare agreement signed with Philippine Airlines for several routes. Let’s find out what the news is all about.
About the American Airlines and Philippine Airlines Codeshare Agreement
It is fresh off the press that American Airlines and Philippine Airlines have signed a codeshare agreement. What that means is that the airlines will be able to sell and therefore put their flight code on a selection of the other’s flights. In essence American will be able to sell on its website some of Philippine’s flights and viceversa.
The agreement doesn’t cover all of the two airline’s networks, as I hinted at, but just a selection of flights. The flights selected are chosen so that the two airlines can somehow offer a sort of onwards seamless service to key destinations.
Which Flights Are Part Of The Codeshare Agreement?
Philippine Airlines customers will enjoy enhanced connectivity from Los Angeles’ LAX International Airport. PAL will apply its flight code number on American Airlines flight from LAX to:
- Atlanta
- Denver
- Houston
- Las Vegas
- Miami
- Orlando
- Washington, D.C.
The choice of using LAX as the hub for these codeshare flights for Philippine Airlines is by no means accidental. The Asian airline operates 2 daily flights every day of the week from Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport to LAX.
American Airlines on their side will be applying their own flight code number to PAL flights to Manila from:
- Tokyo
- Honolulu
- Guam
Additionally flights from Tokyo to the popular tourist destination Cebu will also fall into this codeshare agreement.
Why Did The Airlines Need This Agreement?
On the American Airlines side the agreement is needed to expand its presence in the Asia-Pacific region without having to deploy extra resources in the region which it does not have available at the moment. It might also help intercept more expat filipinos travelling to visit family.
On the PAL side the domestic US routes should help feed more passengers onto its flights from Los Angeles. This should help achieve a higher load factor and possibly boost profits on these extremely lucrative routes.
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