American, China Southern in big move to strengthen ties

American Airlines and China Southern have wasted no time cozying up to each other in the wake of the Chinese carrier’s decision to quit SkyTeam. The airlines announced Wednesday they were taking steps to strengthen their partnership with a significant expansion of codeshare cooperation and the launch of reciprocal frequent flyer benefits and lounge access. The expansion, which is pending regulatory approvals,  will see American codesharing to 20 destinations beyond Beijing and Shanghai. China Southern will have its code on flights to 21 US ports beyond Los Angeles (LAX), San Francisco SFO) and New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). The Guangzhou-based Chinese carrier flagged it would strengthen its alliance with American when it announced its decision to quite the SkyTeam alliance from January 1. READ: Skyteam reassures customers over China Southern departures. SkyTeam had been seen as a drag on the relationship between China Southern and American, which last year sealed a $US200 million deal that included a 2.76 percent stake in China's biggest carrier. The move fuelled speculation the Chinese carrier would join the rival oneworld alliance founded by American, although China Southern hinted it was looking at bilateral and multilateral alliances. The airlines launched a reciprocal codeshare in January to give each better access to the other’s domestic market. That gave American’s passengers access to 14 cities beyond Beijing Capital Airport (PEK)  and this will now be expanded to another five destinations beyond the Chinese capital. They are Urumqi Diwopu International Airport (URC),  Guiyang Longdongbao International Airport (KWE),  Guilin Liangjiang International Airport (KWL), Haikou Meilan International Airport (HAK) and Sanya Phoenix International Airport (SYX). There are also new codeshare services from Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) to nine cities. They are Sanya Phoenix  airport, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CAN), Shenyang Taoxian International Airport (SHE), Changsha Huanghua International Airport (CSX), Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport (SZX), Dalian Zhoushuizi International Airport (DLC), Harbin Taiping International Airport (HRB), Changchun Longjia International Airport (CGQ) and Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport (CGO) China Southern currently codeshares with American to six cities but will expand this to a host of additional flight from beyond LAX, SFO and JFK. From LAX,  codeshare destinations will include Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu (HNL), McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas (LAS), San Jose International Airport (SJC), Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), Orlando International Airport (MCO), Portland International Airport (PDX), Denver International Airport (DEN), Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) and Tucson International Airport (TUS). From SFO, they add LAX, JFK, Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD), Philadelphia International Airport (PHL), Miami International Airport (MIA) and Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT). Destinations from JFK are LAX, BOS, MCO, MIA, DFW, Raleigh/Durham International Airport (RDU), San Diego International Airport (SAN) and  Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix (PHX). The airlines will also begin codesharing on each other’s flights between the U.S. and China. American will place its AA code on China Southern flights from LAX to Shenyang and Guangzhou. “We are very pleased with the progress we have made so far in our newly formed relationship with the largest airline in Asia,” American Airlines president Robert Isom said in a statement. “We look forward to building on our successes with a significant expansion of our codeshare cooperation and the addition of reciprocal frequent flyer benefits and lounge access. “With the opening of Beijing Daxing International Airport in 2019, and the ability to cooperate fully with China Southern, we are incredibly excited about American’s future in the Chinese market.” China Southern assistant president Zhan Ling said the strengthened relationship would help both airlines extend networks and meet passenger demands through sharing resources. He said the American relationship was an important move in China Southern’s initiatives to build new international relationships. “Our cooperation is market- and passenger-oriented, founded on a win-win relationship,’’ he said.