The US Department of Transport (DoT) has tentatively approved a joint venture between Qantas and American Airlines.
As a result, Qantas has announced it intention to operate services on two new routes – Brisbane-Chicago and Brisbane-San Francisco.
The Qantas – American Airlines Joint Venture
The partnership between Qantas and American Airlines has been a long time coming. It has previously been rejected by the USA. However, the two airlines decided to resubmit their application, and it appears to have been more successful this time around.
Under the proposed joint venture, the airlines are looking towards
- The opportunity to launch new routes and flights to new destinations, including to city pairs not currently served by either carrier.
- An expanded codeshare relationship and optimised schedules on trans-Pacific services, opening up more connections to more destinations and reduced total travel time.
- Better access to seats on each carrier’s network, leading to lower fares.
- Additional frequent flyer benefits by further integrating the carrier’s programs, including higher earn rates for points on each other’s networks beyond what is possible today through oneworld
- Increased redemption opportunities and improved reciprocal end-to-end recognition of our top-tier frequent flyers.
- Co-location at airports, investments in lounges, baggage systems and other infrastructure designed to better serve the carriers’ joint customers.
Qantas Group Chief Executive Officer, Alan Joyce, said: “Both airlines submitted a compelling proposal to the DOT that would bring significant benefits to millions of travellers and a boost to tourism.
“For more than 30 years, Qantas and American have connected the US and Australia as partners. This joint business means that we’ll be able to deepen this partnership to offer new routes, better flight connections and more frequent flyer benefits.”