United, Emirates Expand Codeshare to Include Flights to Mexico

In fall 2022, United Airlines and Emirates Airlines announced a new partnership. This alliance was relatively unexpected, given just a few years ago, the big three carriers in the United States were in the middle of a spat with Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways over a variety of allegations.

The initial partnership was tied to the launch of United’s new nonstop flights from Newark to Dubai along with a codeshare agreement that allowed United passengers to seamlessly connect to flights flying to over 100 different cities. Emirates passengers flying into the United States to United hubs had easy access to many cities served by United. Interline agreements were put in place where United did not operate a hub but both carriers flew to.

The partnership also introduced loyalty program benefits with United loyalty program members traveling to Dubai on United being able to earn and redeem miles when connecting on Emirates and FlyDubai. Emirates loyalty program members were also able to earn and redeem miles on United flights.

This partnership has not been without challenges. Earlier this summer, in a purely protectionist move, the Indian government refused to grant permission to United Airlines to codeshare with Emirates on routes to and from India. The Indian government stated that codeshares are not covered in the bilateral traffic rights agreement between India and Dubai and are therefore not allowed.

Nine Destinations in Mexico

Ultimately, this did not stop the two airlines from agreeing to partner elsewhere. This week, the two airlines announced a significant expansion in their codeshare partnership to now include nine destinations in Mexico.

Now passengers on Emirates flights to Chicago and Houston will be able to seamlessly connect onwards to leisure destinations in Mexico such as Cancun, Cozumel, Monterrey, Puerto Vallarta, Guadalajara, San Jose Del Cabo, Leon/Guanajuato Queretaro and Mexico City, the Mexican capital. Passengers coming into the United States on Emirates will have the option of arriving in Houston on a newly refurbished Airbus A380 aircraft featuring premium economy or on a Boeing 777 aircraft into Chicago.

While Emirates already serves Mexico City direct from Dubai with a stop in Barcelona, this expansion now gives passengers greater flexibility in timing by offering a choice of a United flight and an onwards connection on Emirates versus flying on Emirates direct from Mexico City and stopping in Barcelona.

With the addition of these new codeshare flights, the agreement between the two airlines now includes 134 destinations from United’s international gateways with an additional 100 destinations that are available through interline agreements.

Tickets featuring these new codeshares will be available starting Sept. 14.

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Hemal Gosai

Hemal took his first flight at four years old and has been an avgeek since then. When he isn't working as an analyst he's frequently found outside watching planes fly overhead or flying in them. His favorite plane is the 747-8i which Lufthansa thankfully flies to EWR allowing for some great spotting. He firmly believes that the best way to fly between JFK and BOS is via DFW and is always willing to go for that extra elite qualifying mile. Hemal's opinions are his own and do not reflect those of his employer.

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