China Southern Airlines and American Airlines to expand partnership in early 2019

China Southern Airlines and American Airlines announced (28-Nov-2018) plans to expand their codeshare agreement and launch reciprocal frequent flyer cooperation and lounge access, effective early 2019 subject to regulatory approval. American president Robert Isom said the carrier is "incredibly excited" with its future in the Chinese market, citing the opening of Beijing Daxing International Airport in 2019 and the ability to cooperate fully with China Southern. In addition to the 14 cities currently served beyond Beijing Capital International Airport, American will codeshare on services from five additional cities from Beijing Capital and introduce codeshare service beyond Shanghai Pudong. For China Southern, in addition to the six cities in the US currently served by the carrier on American, China Southern will codeshare on additional services beyond Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York JFK, expanding its codeshare on American operated network to 21 cities. The carriers will also commence codesharing on each other's trans Pacific services between the US and China. [more - original PR]