American & Starlux Launch Codeshare Partnership… Loyalty Reciprocity Next?

A little over year ago, Taiwan-based Starlux Airlines and American Airlines launched an interline agreement, which is the most basic level of cooperation that airlines can have. I wondered if there would be more to this over time…and the answer is yes! The airlines are now launching a codeshare agreement, and hopefully that also eventually leads to loyalty reciprocity (though it’s not a sure bet). American & Starlux codeshare agreement detailsCould we see American & Starlux loyalty reciprocity?Bottom line Starlux and American are expanding their partnership from an interline agreement to a codeshare agreement. For context: An interline agreement allows passengers to book a ticket that includes travel on both Starlux and American, and have more of a seamless journey, with bags being checked between carriers A codeshare agreement allows the airlines to place their “code” on the flights of the other airline, and essentially market the flights of the other airline Let me emphasize that while a codeshare agreement is a higher level of cooperation than an interline agreement, it doesn’t guarantee loyalty reciprocity, and it’s also a far cry from a joint venture (where airlines can coordinate fares and schedules). As flagged by AeroRoutes, the new codeshare agreement initially allows American to place its code on Starlux flights between Taipei (TPE) and Los Angeles (LAX), Ontario (ONT), San Francisco (SFO), and Seattle (SEA). Oddly, the Phoenix (PHX) route is not initially part of the codeshare agreement when it comes to American placing its code on transpacific Starlux flights. In the other direction, this allows Starlux to place its code on domestic American flights out of Los Angeles and Phoenix. Starlux & American are adding a codeshare agreement When American and Starlux launched an interline agreement, I mentioned how I figured there could be more coming. That’s especially the case when you consider Alaska and American partner pretty closely, and Starlux and Alaska have a partnership, which includes frequent flyer reciprocity, among other things (admittedly Alaska takes a different approach to loyalty than American does). The thing is, the politics here are also complicated. We also know that Starlux wants to join the oneworld alliance, and big picture, that makes sense in terms of industry dynamics. That’s because the two other full service airlines in Taiwan — China Airlines and EVA Air — belong to the other two global alliances. But that’s seemingly not happening, because Cathay Pacific has veto rights, and is reportedly blocking Starlux’s entry into the alliance (while seemingly being fine with Philippine Airlines joining). The added complexity here is that while American’s Asia network is limited, the airline does have a transpacific joint venture with Japan Airlines, so has a strong incentive to route Asia traffic through Japan, given the revenue sharing agreements in place. Unless American plans to launch its own flights to Taipei (which doesn’t strike me as terribly likely), it’s not like the revenue upside here is huge, by simply codesharing with an airline. At the same time, I imagine that competitively, American realizes it needs to up its game across the Pacific in terms of giving customers choice, even if its not on its own metal, or part of a joint venture. So I’m not surprised to see this codeshare agreement, and I’d assume (or at least hope) that AAdvantage management would also be pursuing reciprocal loyalty perks. So while nothing has been announced on that front, don’t be surprised if there’s more to this. Among the full service airlines that American partners with that don’t belong to oneworld, the airline does have some sort of reciprocal loyalty agreement with all of them, with the one exception being Philippine Airlines (but that will change when the airline joins the alliance). Will we see reciprocal loyalty cooperation with American & Starlux? Bottom line In the middle of 2025, Starlux Airlines and American Airlines launched an interline agreement, a really casual level of cooperation. Now a little over a year later, the two airlines are launching a codeshare agreement, which is a closer level of cooperation. There’s still no sign of anything beyond that. We know that Starlux would like to join oneworld, but is being blocked by Cathay Pacific. I do hope that we at least see loyalty reciprocity between American and Starlux, as that would be great for flyers. What do you make of of American and Starlux launching a codeshare agreement? How much more do you think we’ll see?