LONDON – United Airlines & Singapore Airlines announced yesterday an expansion of its codesharing arrangements to cover 19 new destinations.

This represents a new era in the relationship between the two new carriers that will open up new connectivity points across the U.S & Asia.

Such an announcement was made following the growing demand for international air travel on a post-pandemic basis.

The Codesharing Arrangements…

United’s customers will be able to connect to nine new codeshare destinations in the SIA Group network.

They are as follows:

• Bandar Seri Begawan
• Siem Reap
• Kuala Lumpur
• Penang
• Denpasar
• Jakarta
• Surabaya
• Perth
• Male

For Singapore Airlines customers, the following destinations will now be accessible to their customers:

• Austin
• Baltimore
• Boise
• Cleveland
• Denver
• Honolulu
• Las Vegas
• Phoenix
• Reno
• Sacramento

The 19 new destinations will join the already-established destinations listed in the previous codesharing deal that the two sides signed.

Critical Links in Asia Established…

Commenting on the expanded partnership was Patrick Quayle, United’s Senior VP of International Networks & Alliances:

“United continues to provide critical links to Asia and we are the only US airline flying direct to Singapore from the US, with our nonstop San Francisco – Singapore flight”.

“We are excited to further expand our partnership with Singapore Airlines and provide our customers greater convenience and access to world-class destinations in the region.”

Also commenting on the news was JoAnn Tan, the Senior VP of Marketing Planning at Singapore Airlines:

“SIA’s partnership with United is an integral part of our growth strategy”.

“The expansion of the codeshare arrangement will provide both SIA and United customers with a greater array of choices and connections, as well as seamless transfers for their business or leisure travel.”

“This will also help to strengthen the deep and longstanding ties between Singapore and the US.”

Benefits for Both Sides…

The 19 new destinations that are being added to the codeshare will definitely benefit both sides.

For United, this will bolster their presence in Asia through the addition of the UA tag on flights to the nine destinations served by SQ.

Singapore Airlines will also receive more benefits, especially with acquiring more of the 162 million passengers that fly with United every year.

So, if anything, this new expanded codesharing arrangement does seem to be a no-brainer for both carriers, and will no doubt benefit them in the Summer 2022 season especially.

Overall…

What remains clear is that two behemoths of the airline industry working together are going to generate a higher revenue stream for both sides.

And that is a good thing, especially in the perspective that as much revenue capture is going to be needed in the Summer season and beyond to reduce losses caused by COVID-19 and return to profitability.

It will be interesting to see how the two carriers fare over the Summer, particularly on the new routes that are being featured on the revamped codeshare.

For United and their shared purpose of connecting people and uniting the world, this new arrangement is definitely living by that ethos and brand.