Details: Emirates & United Airlines Launch Partnership

We learned a couple of weeks ago how the partnership would be launched. We have all the details. This partnership isn't quite as close as I thought it would be.

How the Emirates & United partnership works

The new partnership will see the two airlines work together. This is among other things.

• As of November 2022, Emirates will start interlining with United at major US airports, meaning that customers will be able to book Emirates and United on a single ticket, making it easier to check-in and check bags, and giving Emirates customers access to 200+ destinations in the United States and beyond
• As of March 2023, United will launch a daily Newark to Dubai flight, feeding into Emirates’ global network, with connection possibilities to 100+ destinations
• The two airlines plan to codeshare, which would be a closer level of cooperation, though the details of that are limited as of now (this requires government approval)
• There will be reciprocal mileage earning and redemption opportunities, though the exact details of that remain to be seen; for example, we don’t know if redemptions will be allowed on all routes or just select routes, and if it’ll be possible to redeem United MileagePlus miles for Emirates first class
• Premium customers will receive reciprocal lounge access when connecting to or from flights between the USA and UAE

Given the history of the two companies, it is pretty significant to see them working together. There was a huge battle between the big three US carriers and the big three Gulf carriers in regards to the Open Skies policy. Since then, the situation has been solved.

After the Pandemic shut down global air travel, Tim Clark said that he wanted to partner with a "big three" US airline. Clark feels that bilateral agreements are more beneficial than joining a global alliance. Clark said that the airline could make a lot of money.

For the past several years, the United States has been home to partnerships with Alaska Airlines and JetBlue Airways.

My take on Emirates & United partnership

A partnership between the two airlines makes sense.

• Both United and Continental used to have a partnership with Emirates back in the day, so this cooperation isn’t totally new
• United can provide feed at so many of Emirates’ US airports, including Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Newark, San Francisco, Washington, etc.
• From a competitive standpoint, we’ve seen American Airlines and Qatar Airways launch a strategic alliance during the pandemic, while American previously refused to cooperate closely with Qatar Airways; on top of that, American also partners with Etihad Airways
• Emirates is the biggest foreign airline serving India, and flying directly from the US to India has become more complicated in recent months, with Russian airspace closures; for example, United can’t operate a nonstop San Francisco to Bangalore route with current airspace restrictions

I have to say that this new partnership is a bit more toned down than I had anticipated. I was expecting a similar partnership to the one we had with Qantas a long time ago.

It doesn't sound like frequent flyers with both airlines will be getting full reciprocated perks regardless of how they book.

The way I see it, it's a win for the airline because of the number of airports they have in the US. Even though United gets some additional passengers on domestic flights, the way in which revenue is distributed won't make much of a difference. United will be able to return to the Middle East, as well as get better access to India, by launching a Newark toDubai route.

The partnership between Air Canada and Emirates is limited in scope at the moment.

Bottom line

There is a partnership between United Airlines and Emirates. The two airlines will have codeshare and interline on many routes. There will be some level of reciprocity for frequent flyers, though the exact details are not known.

What do you think about this partnership?