Notes

American Airlines is looking to expand their partnerships across the pond. This now involves seeking to codeshare with Vueling, a Spanish carrier owned mostly by IAG. If approved, the new codesharing would allow for additional connections for both American and Vueling passengers across continental Europe.
This move makes sense. American already partners with two other IAG giants: British Airways and Iberia. Although Iberia is based in Spain, Iberia has a hub in Madrid whereas Vueling has a hub in Barcelona. Should the codeshare be approved, this will also bring about greater options for travellers looking to fly to destinations in continental Europe not directly served by American. Vice versa, this opens up cities in North America for Vueling passengers.

However, Barcelona is not the only city from which American wants to codeshare with Vueling. The codeshare will extend to other cities such as Rome where Vueling has another hub. This will likely help fill some of American’s planes across Europe. It seems that American is looking to keep their planes full and maintain flights to Europe rather than scaling back like they did for flights to China.

Overall
It is only natural for American Airlines to expand their transatlantic partnerships through a codeshare with Vueling as the airline is a part of IAG. American certainly seems to be focused on strengthening their existing network. This includes expressing immense confidence in South America while also expanding with new transatlantic flights. In fact, through their joint venture with British Airways, American announced a new Boston to London flight. Chicago, Miami, New York, and Philadelphia all have nonstop American service to Barcelona. Perhaps, if the partnership works out, American could add services from either Dallas or Charlotte as well to the Spanish city.

What do you think about this agreement? Is this a great opportunity or just another partnership that looks good on paper, but doesn’t work out? I’d love to know to so let me know down in the comments.