Oneworld carrier American Airlines and Canada’s Porter Airlines have applied for authorisation to launch a codeshare agreement that would see the carriers reciprocate benefits on transborder flights.
In a 25 July filing with the US Department of Transportation (DOT), the airlines describe a plan to establish a reciprocal codeshare on flights between Canada and the USA, in which each carrier would display the other’s designator code on certain routes.
The DOT application outlines codeshare flights on routes throughout Canada as well as popular vacation destinations in the USA, Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean.
”The flights will be between the United States and Canada, via intermediate points, between gateways in each country and points within, and points beyond, thus extending the range of American’s and Porter’s services to the mutual benefit of the traveling and shipping public,” the application reads.
Porter has been engaged in transborder operations for years, flying De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 turboprops from its home turf in Eastern Canada to cities in the Northeast USA.
More recently, the airline has embarked on an expansion across North America – including flights to the West Coast of the USA – using its rapidly growing fleet of Embraer 195-E2 twinjets. New routes to Mexico and the Caribbean are also in the works.
American already partners with more than 20 global airlines through codeshare agreements.
Porter is not a member of a global airline alliance, though this latest move could be interpreted as aligning more closely with Oneworld. The Toronto-based company has established in recent years a joint venture with fellow Canadian carrier Air Transat and an interline agreement with Oneworld carrier Alaska Airlines.
Earlier this year, Porter deepened commercial ties with Alaska and Transat by expanding its loyalty programme to apply to flights with both of those carriers.
