American Airlines continues to look to the future with new medium-term strategies. On Wednesday it made a joint application for permission to codeshare with Philippine Airlines. Here's what this new endeavor means for you as a traveler. 

Joint application but separate flights

The joint application for reciprocal codeshare was filed by American Airlines and Philippine Airlines (PAL) with the US Department of Transportation on Wednesday. American wants to make use of the airlines’ joint business hub in Tokyo, and PAL is looking to transfer passengers onwards domestically in the US from its Manila to Los Angeles route. 

Under this agreement, American would put its code on PAL flights serving:

  • Manila – Honolulu
  • Manila – Guam
  • Manila – Tokyo
  • Cebu – Tokyo

Whereas PAL would join in on eight of American’s domestic routes from Los Angeles:

  • Atlanta
  • Denver
  • Houston
  • Las Vegas
  • Miami
  • New Orleans
  • Orlando
  • Washington DC

“Our goal is to offer our customers new options to travel to Manila and Cebu through our joint business hub in Tokyo. We look forward to taking this next step in our partnership,” a representative for American Airlines said in a statement to Simple Flying.

This means that American will not codeshare on PAL’s flights between Manila and the continental US. Could this mean that American is still considering an ultra-long-haul route to the Philippine capital under its own livery? Or does it hope to gain more profit from having codeshare passengers on their own planes to Tokyo? As clearly direct flights would be more convenient for travelers.

Philippine Airlines will codeshare on eight of American's domestic routes.
Philippine Airlines will codeshare on eight of American's domestic routes. Photo: Getty Images

Continental US and the Philippines

Los Angeles is Philippine Airlines’ most popular North American destination. In late January this year, the airline announced that it would be reintroducing a route from Cebu to LAX. Plans were for it to recommence this only direct link between the largest city of the Philippines in May this year.

Of the "big three," American has previously had the least exposure to the Philippine market. Delta has served Manila via Tokyo but plans to move the stopover to Seoul Incheon as part of their joint venture with Korean Air. United Airlines serves Manila from Guam, and from the continental US, it also transfers passengers via Tokyo to All Nippon Airways.

United and Philippine Airlines have recently been involved in a heated dispute about the latter’s proposed three-times-weekly service from Manila to Seattle, which would be the only nonstop flights between the two cities. 

Philippine Airlines Boeing 747
Philippine Airlines previously flew Boeing 747s on its long-hauls but retired the aircraft in 2014. Photo. Aero Icarus via Wikimedia Commons

American Airlines' new strategy

This new codeshare is part of American’s new medium-term strategy. One that has also included bringing Alaska Airlines into the oneworld fold, and launching a new non-stop flight from Seattle to Bengaluru in India from October this year. This will make American the only airline to fly direct between these two tech-hubs.

A codeshare agreement allows airlines to sell seats on flights that are operated by other airlines. This means that you can combine flights with partner airlines to create a single itinerary to multiple destinations. They allow you to check bags through to final destination, plus coordinated schedules often make transfer times less stressful. 

Are you happy to see this new codeshare? Let us know in the comments.