Three new codeshares, only one confirmed to benefit its frequent flyers

...at least that’s the way it looks so far. 

Codeshare 1: Oman Air and Lufthansa

Their codeshare started in March. Lufthansa will codeshare with Oman Air on Oman Air operated services from both Frankfurt and Munich to Muscat.

Oman Air will be moving terminals in Frankfurt to the Lufthansa operated terminals in Frankfurt terminal 1 and Munich terminal 2.

We could get no response from Lufthansa and Oman Air about what this codeshare means for the respective frequent flyer members but it looks as though there is no deal between the airlines, which suggests the deal is meaningless for their members.

In other news, Oman Air will also start its new daily flight between Muscat and Manchester from May 1, 2017 on an A330 -200 and is in addition to the double daily flight from London Heathrow, making Manchester the only airport outside of London to have direct flights to Muscat. The 7.5 hour flight will depart Muscat International Airport at 1400 and arrive Manchester at 1905. 

Codeshare 2: American Airlines and China Southern Airlines

Later this year, the two carriers expect to begin a codeshare. The expected codeshare routes are anticipated to include “the ability to earn and redeem AAdvantage Miles, through-bag checking and the ability to book travel on a single ticket.”

We asked them what this oddly phrased allusion to American’s frequent flyer program, AAdvantage, means. Specifically, does it mean that AAdvantage members can earn Frequent Flyer points when they fly on China Southern Airlines and use AAdvantage miles to buy flights/upgrades with China Southern Airlines? If so, is this reciprocal and China Southern Airlines frequent flyer members can earn and spend Frequent Flyer points with AA?

Their response was: “These additional details will be worked out later this year, and we will have more to announce when the codeshare and interline agreements are finalized, subject to government approvals in China and the United States.”

So who knows!

Codeshare 3: Delta and Korean Air

The Delta and Korean Air partnership is much more straightforward. The main point of the partnership iis enhanced frequent flyer benefits, providing customers of both airlines the ability to earn and redeem miles on Delta’s Sky Miles and Korean Air’s SKYPASS programs.

Additionally, Delta will be launching new nonstop service between Atlanta and Seoul in June 2017, a flight that complements Korean Air’s existing service. At the same time Korean Air will continue to expand its U.S. – Korea network in summer 2017 with the introduction of a third roundtrip between Los Angeles and Seoul, as well as a second flight between San Francisco and Seoul.

To understand the pros and cons of codeshares, read our quick guide.