Skift Take
Alaska Airlines startled the airline world by announcing it will enter the Oneworld global alliance. It also plans to coordinate more deeply with American, especially after American launches London and Bangalore flights from Seattle. But will the two be able to compete with powerhouse Delta, which also flies internationally from Seattle?
Alaska Airlines, long a proudly unaligned airline, has changed its mind and is joining the Oneworld global airline alliance starting in the summer of 2021. The airline also will coordinate its domestic U.S. schedule with American Airlines’ international network from Seattle, Alaska’s biggest hub, and Los Angeles International (LAX).
Alaska and American already have a code-sharing agreement, which allows passengers to book tickets on either airlines’ flights to select destinations. This new deal will let passengers book tickets from any point in Alaska’s domestic network to American’s international flights from the West Coast.
“This unlocks a whole new way of thinking for Alaska to think globally not just with code-shares and interlines, but also for global itineraries for our customers,” Brett Catlin, Alaska’s managing director of alliances and networks, said in an interview.
“A big piece of this alliance is Alaska’s domestic network and American’s international network,” he added. “We will compete domestically the same as we do today.” The number of domestic code-share flights will shrink, while the number of international code-share flig
