Air China expands codeshare agreement with United Airlines

Media reports recently said that two Star Alliance members Air China and United Airlines have decided to add 22 new routes to their network after expanding their codeshare agreement.

The expanded codeshare pact will now allow both the airlines to place their flight code on each other''s network. The reports said that Air China will be placing its flight code CA on 12 domestic flights to be operated by United Airlines from Los Angeles. The new routes include Seattle, Newark Liberty, San Antonio, Tucson, Cleveland and Dallas. The airline''s flight code will also be place on United Airlines-operated domestic flights to Austin and Salt Lake City from San Francisco. Apart from these routes, the airline will also place its flight code on flights to Tampa and Columbus from Washington D.C. and on flights to Nashville and Tampa from Houston.

In a similar move, United Airlines will also be placing its flight code UA on 10 Air China-operated domestic flights to be operated from Beijing and Shanghai. The routes to be operated from Beijing include Lanzhou, Haikou, Liuzhou, Xining, Yinchuan, Shanghai Hongqiao, Sanya, Taiyuan and Mianyang. The airline will also place its code on flights to Yinchuan from Shanghai Pudong.

The two airlines will now be into codeshare partnership on more than 100 routes in the United States and China. According to the reports, Air China presently has six gateways in the United States. These include Honolulu, Washington D.C., Houston, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York JFK.

Air China had earlier in May this year announced that it will be launching new nonstop flights to Montreal from Beijing starting from September 29, 2015. The new service will be launched under Air China''s joint venture agreement with Air Canada. The flights will operate thrice weekly with the help of a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.