American Airlines (AA) and WestJet have announced an alliance to carry passengers more seamlessly on each others’ networks. This means code-sharing to add Canadian cities to AA’s list of cities served as well as U.S. cities to WestJet’s destinations. The deal should be operational by November 9th.
Is this good or bad? United, Continental and US Airways already have a alliance agreement with Air Canada. Now, with AA locking in an agreement with WestJet, Delta and its SkyTeam Alliance is the odd man out.
Competition will suffer as WestJet depends more and more on a feed from AA. On the other hand, WestJet will now have the ability to sell tickets into the U.S. that reach hundreds of destinations that they never could sell before.
WestJet already has a code-sharing arrangement with Cathay Pacific, another OneWorld Alliance member like AA, so there is clearly movement toward making WestJet a full member of the OneWorld Alliance. Cathay Pacific now code-shares to Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Winnipeg, Ottawa and Montreal, from its existing hubs in Vancouver and Toronto.
WestJet also has similar interline agreements with Air France-KLM and China Airlines, and a memorandum of understanding with British Airways.
Reading between the lines, it appears that the Air France-KLM and China Airlines deals (both members of SkyTeam Alliance) will eventually fall by the wayside and WestJet will become a member of OneWorld.
Time will tell. At this point, even though code-sharing is sure to eventually come to this AA/WestJet alliance, it will be an interline arrangement for the time being.
AA is thanking its lucky stars that Southwest didn’t move forward with the full WestJet code share last year. Otherwise, they would be sore out of luck with coverage of Canada. Now they can add WestJet flights to the network of JetBlue and Alaska Airlines flights that serve as feeders for their larger system.
Charlie Leocha is the President of Travelers United. He has been working in Washington, DC, for the past 14 years with Congress, the Department of Transportation, and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative to the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 through 2018.
