United Airlines and Emirates are apparently about to begin a codeshare collaboration, which is kind of amazing.
The Air Current, an industry newsletter, broke the news overnight on Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the strategy.
A few hours later, United teased a press conference for September 14 at one of its hubs, Dulles International Airport, by sending invitations to the media (IAD).
The event, which will feature United CEO Scott Kirby and Emirates president Sir Tim Clark, has also been promoted on the official Twitter pages of United and Emirates.
The news reports on a surprising warming of ties between a U.S. carrier and the biggest Middle Eastern carrier with state funding.
The subsidies that Middle Eastern airlines received from their home nations in 2017 — in Emirates' instance, the United Arab Emirates — were a point of contention for United's then-CEO, Oscar Munoz.
Munoz remarked, "Those airlines aren't airlines.
They serve as ambassadors for their nations abroad.
United terminated its interline deal with five Middle Eastern airlines, including Emirates and its sibling company, Flydubai, the following month.
During a time of notable tension, Munoz's remarks and United's actions were part of a drive by the industry against those airlines.
In a notable 2016 incident, Delta Air Lines forced customers to disembark using stairs when a super jumbo flown in by Qatar Airways was denied access to an A380 gate at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), the airline's primary hub.
Fifth-freedom flights—traffic privileges given to airlines that let them to fly from the United States (or any other country) with an intermediate stop in a second country before flying to their home country—were at the center of the conflict.
As an example, Emirates operates flights from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Milan Malpensa Airport (MXP) and from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) to Athens International Airport (ATH). As a result of the codeshare, The Air Current notes that this flight will now probably have a United flight number.
The amount of travel between the U.S. and Europe is highly lucrative for American airlines, while fifth-freedom flights enable Middle Eastern airlines to provide an excellent passenger experience at an affordable price.
American Airlines and its Middle Eastern partner, Qatar Airways, have reportedly strengthened their relationship as a result of the rumoured move by United.
Although both airlines are associated with the Oneworld alliance, there has been a growing relationship between them recently.
Between its JFK base and Qatar's hub at Doha's Hamad International Airport (DOH), American began operating a flight this summer.
United, which already codesits with JetBlue, would be Emirates' second codeshare partner in the United States.
Emirates and Air Canada, a different member of the Star Alliance, established a codeshare last month.
The United codeshare, according to a source who spoke to The Air Current, is a step before Emirates joining Star Alliance.
Although the specifics of the codeshare have not yet been disclosed, it is almost probable that it will imply that award and cash tickets can be booked on each other's websites.
Theoretically, this means that those who have a sizable collection of United MileagePlus miles may be able to purchase Emirates first class tickets, an experience that many AvGeeks have on their bucket list.
(Emirates may, of course, decide not to offer United access to those first-class seats.)
Except for Denver International Airport, Emirates presently offers service to 12 locations in the United States, including all of United's hubs (DEN).
United, however, stopped flying from Dulles to Emirates' base at Dubai International Airport in January 2016, discontinuing the service during the hostilities with Middle Eastern airlines.
It's likely that United will once more fly to the Middle Eastern mega-hub with a new codeshare.
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