Emirates signs codeshare deal with Alaska Airlines

Dubai airline Emirates has signed a codeshare deal with Alaska Airlines to offer better connectivity to all its passengers travelling to the United States.

The codeshare agreement will help passengers connect to 49 other US cities including Honolulu, Denver, Las Vegas, Portland, Phoenix, Pullman, Sacramento, Spokane, Anchorage, Juneau, and Fairbanks as well as Canadian destinations such as Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver and Victoria.

Emirates currently operates two daily flights from Dubai to Seattle from where passengers can connect to Alaskan Airlines flights, the carrier said.

“Alaska Airlines’ service and exceptional connectivity across the US and Canada, particularly in the Pacific Northwest, perfectly complements our global network and extends the range of travel options for both our customer bases,” said Emirates’ president Sir Tim Clark.

Pending governmental approval, Emirates will begin marketing up to 300 daily Alaska Airlines flights. Passengers will also be able to purchase tickets on the connecting flights using a single reservation and avail of lounge access on both the airlines.

“Our new codeshare agreement gives customers connecting through our West Coast hubs seamless access to Emirates’ global network,” said Alaska Airlines’ chief executive and president Brad Tilden.

“As Seattle’s hometown airline, our partnership already connects 2,500 customers a week to Emirates and we expect that to increase as we streamline the travel experience for customers travelling between Alaska and Emirates.”

The codeshare agreement comes even as Gulf airlines are engaged in a rift with other US airlines over subsidies. The US carriers say that Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways have violated the terms of the open skies treaty by receiving subsidies worth $42bn from their respective government. These funds have helped them expand rapidly in US market, the American carriers claim.

But regional carriers have responded with detailed white papers, which they say contain proof that their operations impact the US economy positively and do not violate any clauses in the open skies treaty.

Gulf carriers have also continued to step up their flights on US routes citing strong demand.

Emirates recently introduced America Pass, a feature that allows all its passengers to connect to 90 other US cities through its five partner airlines. It also launched a second daily service to Boston in October.

Meanwhile Qatar Airways launched three more routes from Doha to the US including Los Angeles, Boston and Atlanta earlier this year.