Air Canada and United Airlines have signed a joint business agreement for the Canada-US transborder market, building on their long-standing alliance, that will give more flight options and better flight schedules to customers traveling between the two countries. Customers will be able to connect to 38 codeshare destinations in the US and eight of the most popular cities in Canada.
"United is a world-class airline and we are pleased to significantly expand our well-established partnership to further enhance the customer journey between Canada and the U.S. by offering more choice, greater convenience and an improved airport experience," said Mark Galardo, Senior Vice President of Network Planning and Revenue Management at Air Canada. "This agreement marks a new phase in our evolving relationship that will speed the recovery from the pandemic and strengthen both carriers. It will also enable us to optimize our hubs and schedules and to broaden our global network connectivity to maintain our leadership in the market."
"With this new agreement, we are further strengthening our long-standing partnership with Air Canada," said Patrick Quayle, Senior Vice President of Global Network Planning and Alliances at United. "As international travel continues to recover, this expanded partnership will provide an enhanced experience for all transborder travel."
Air Canada and United already cooperate in the transborder market, according to the terms of their existing US antitrust immunity. Under the joint business agreement, subject to compliance with US and Canadian regulatory and antitrust requirements, the two airlines will now be able to: coordinate their networks and schedules, including more flights throughout the day and more access to each airline's seat inventory; enhance codeshare on transborder flights, excluding certain U.S. leisure markets and territories; sell seats on each other's transborder flights and share revenue on flights between hub markets; and align customer policies for greater consistency and enable the seamless provision of onboard products, establish airport co-locations where available and provide extra value to each carriers' frequent flyer programs. The two carriers are also able to work closer together to advance their sustainability objectives.
The implementation of an expanded partnership builds on the existing close cooperation of the two carriers and previously acquired regulatory approvals. United and Air Canada are also founding members of Star Alliance and a transatlantic joint business agreement with the Lufthansa Group.