Air Canada and United Airlines expand codeshare agreement

Air Canada (ADH2) and United Airlines announced​​ a joint business agreement which will see the two airlines working to provide more flight options and better schedules for the US-Canada transborder market.

The agreement will also strengthen and grow both carriers’ networks and accelerate the COVID-19 recovery of both airlines. The airlines are both founding members of the Star Alliance group, and already have an existing partnership.

“United is a world-class airline and we are pleased to significantly expand our well-established partnership to further enhance the customer journey between Canada and the U.S. by offering more choice, greater convenience and an improved airport experience,” Mark Galardo, senior vice president of network planning and revenue management at Air Canada (ADH2) said in a statement.

Galardo added: “This agreement marks a new phase in our evolving relationship that will speed the recovery from the pandemic and strengthen both carriers. It will also enable us to optimize our hubs and schedules and to broaden our global network connectivity to maintain our leadership in the market.”

“With this new agreement, we are further strengthening our long-standing partnership with Air Canada (ADH2),” Patrick Quayle, senior vice president of global network planning and alliances at United said.

“As international travel continues to recover, this expanded partnership will provide an enhanced experience for all transborder travel,” Quayle concluded.

Under the agreement, Air Canada (ADH2) and United Airlines will now be able to:

Coordinate networks and schedules, enabling the carriers to offer customers greater choice, including more flights throughout the day and better access to each airline’s seat inventory.

Enhance codeshare on transborder flights, excluding certain US leisure markets and territories. The carriers anticipate customers will be able to connect to 46 transborder codeshare destinations with more than 400 daily frequencies in 2022, with opportunities to add more codeshare destinations for domestic routes within Canada and the US.

Sell seats on each other’s transborder flights and share revenue on flights between hub markets (where regulatory authorities and antitrust requirements allow), allowing the carriers to grow their overall capacities.

Align customer policies for greater consistency and enable the seamless provision of onboard products, establish airport co-locations where available and provide extra value to each carriers’ frequent flier programs.

Allow the two carriers to work closer together to advance their sustainability objectives.