American and Starlux Forge New Alliance

American and Starlux Forge New Alliance

American and Starlux Forge Fresh Alliance

So, here’s the scoop: Taiwan-based Starlux Airlines is patting backs with American Airlines. But curtail your excitement—this newfound friendship is about as deep as a kiddie pool. For now, they’re keeping it casually distant.

About the American & Starlux Interline Agreement

Starlux and American are rolling out what they call an “interline agreement.” In airline-speak, this is the bottom rung of partnership ladders. Think of it as a handshake that allows travelers to book a trip that involves flights on both Starlux and American, complete with smooth baggage transfers. It’s not exactly a group hug, but hey, it’s something.

Currently, if you’re booking with Starlux, you’re looking at flying from Taipei to places like Los Angeles, Ontario, San Francisco, and Seattle. And soon, Phoenix is being added to that list. This interline deal feels like a preemptive strike for the Phoenix takeover. How? American swoops in to connect more dots for Starlux flyers.

If you’re wondering how basic interline agreements are, consider this: American also has one with heavyweights like Delta and United, and trust me, they’re not sipping tea together.

No need to pop the champagne yet; the extent of romance between these companies stops at interline for now. Translation? No sharing frequent flyer perks, no codesharing dotted lines, no alliance memberships, and definitely no joint ventures. They’re playing it cool.

Dreams of a Closer Partnership?

Now, don’t think this interline agreement is a gateway to anything hardcore. But rumor has it, Starlux dreams of cozying up to American. Case in point, Starlux already plays nice with Alaska, sharing frequent flyer benefits and more.

Starlux is eyeing a spot in the oneworld club. It’s a logical step in the grand airline scheme, with China Airlines and EVA Air already cozied up with other airline alliances. But as you can imagine, airline alliances are something of a soap opera:

  • American is pretty particular about who they tie the knot with unless they’re part of oneworld or they don’t threaten existing alliances. They’ve got a solid hookup with Japan Airlines, re-routing Asian traffic through Japan is part of the strategy.
  • But if Starlux were to greet oneworld with a hearty “hello,” questions linger about whether any of the big-leaguers, like Cathay Pacific, would block them due to proximity. A real telenovela, I say!

If you ask me to gaze into my crystal ball, true love between Starlux and American seems on the cards only if Starlux scores an invite to the oneworld bash. Starlux’s CEO has been hinting for over a year now about this oneworld dream, but there’s been crickets. Suspense!

Final Thoughts

This laidback pact between Starlux Airlines and American to partake in an interline agreement is set to coincide with Starlux launching flights to Phoenix. It means travelers can score tickets that involve a tango with both airlines but forget about any frills—no shared rewards, no tailoring to codeshares.

Let’s not get overly thrilled here—it’s decent but what you’d expect from a first date. The million-dollar question is where this journey takes them, especially with Starlux’s ongoing flirtation with oneworld.

Your thoughts on the American and Starlux’s new interline agreement? Are you intrigued by this airline world collaboration, or does it leave you shrugging? Meanwhile, as you ponder that, if the idea of a getaway appeals, check out Val Seny ski resort. Perfect time for a little detour!

Posted in en