American Airlines is blanketing Asia-Pacific with codeshare agreements, even though the US and Japan are discussing a new bilateral which is likely to allow it to codeshare with Japan Airlines to many of the same points via Japan.
Asiana Airlines is American's latest codeshare partner in a blanket alliance strategy very reminiscent of its deals in Latin America (see story opposite). American replaces Northwest Airline as Asiana's partner on trans-Pacific routes and, pending government approval, will put its code on Asiana-operated flights between South Korea and five US gateways.
The deal follows hard on the heals of American's codesharing agreements with China Airlines and Canadian Airlines. The carrier also has a proposed codeshare deal with Philippine Airlines. And if the US and Japanese negotiators can hammer out a new bilateral, that deal is likely to include clearance for a linkup between the Dallas-based carrier and JAL.
But Arnold Grossman, American's vice president for international affairs, sees no conflict between the pacts with China Airlines and Asiana and any potential JAL alliance. 'South Korea and Taiwan are very strong nonstop markets,' says Grossman. 'We don't see those relationships as impinging upon or problematic of a potential AA-JAL relationship, if such a relationship can in fact be created.'
Patrick Khoury, Asiana's general manager for marketing and sales in the Americas, explains that Asiana switched from Northwest to American for strategic reasons. 'American is currently an airline not involved in the Pacific, so there's less competition between Asiana and American.'
Source: Airline Business
