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!
A few days ago, I covered how the airlines revealed that they’d be launching a codeshare agreement. I mentioned how I hoped that loyalty reciprocity would be next. Good news — it has now been confirmed that this is in the works, so let’s recap everything we know.
American & Starlux codeshare agreement details
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).
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.
American & Starlux working on loyalty reciprocity
In its post on Instagram about the new codeshare agreement, Starlux has confirmed that there’s more cooperation on the way. The airline wrote that “a frequent flyer partnership is also in the works, opening up even more ways to earn miles and redeem award tickets.” Those are all the details we have as of now, so it remains to be seen when the loyalty aspect of this will go live.
I’d assume that at some point in the not-too-distant future, it becomes possible to earn and redeem AAdvantage miles on Starlux, and vice versa:
- Don’t count on travel on Starlux earning Loyalty Points, though, since AAdvantage doesn’t generally offer Loyalty Points for travel on non-alliance partners, like Etihad
- It’s great to have more ways to redeem AAdvantage miles, but this will mean that there’s even more competition for a limited number of premium cabin seats on Starlux; I also wouldn’t expect first class awards to be bookable through partner programs, since that’s also currently not possible
I’m not surprised to see this increased level of cooperation, especially when you consider that 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 reportedly not happening, because Cathay Pacific has veto rights, and is 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 it’s not on its own metal, or that of a joint venture partner.
So I’m not surprised to see this codeshare agreement, and I’m happy to see that we can also expect loyalty reciprocity, as that’ll be great for AAdvantage members.
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.
While the timeline remains to be seen, we know that the airlines are now working toward loyalty reciprocity as well, so it should eventually be possible to earn and redeem AAdvantage miles on Starlux. We know that Starlux would like to join oneworld, but is being blocked by Cathay Pacific, so I wouldn’t expect to see that happen.
What do you make of American and Starlux launching a codeshare agreement, and the upcoming addition of loyalty reciprocity?
CX is getting a lot of shade thrown at it for this. Isn't it bad PR?
Don't tell me they don't care...
I'm not sure Alaska and Starlux have frequent flyer reciprocity. I tried looking for it and couldn't find any information about it. @Ben are you referring to earning frequent flyer miles but not status or elevated benefits?
Nice but I don't have an aa card or Bilt card. How to ern these points?
Great news, although given that both airlines actually want Starlux in Oneworld, I wonder if they establish a reciprocity platform as if they already are in Oneworld, which would include LPs. Wishful thinking maybe.
Hard to know if this is just the Chinese government playing geopolitics, or if this is all about Cathay wanting to fly into Songshan. Probably both.
If someone asked me to make one prediction for the next 10 years in aviation, it would be Starlux will be in OW and CX will not.
I really wish CX left Oneworld. They're nothing but a troller in the alliance. They don't really cooperate with other members but just block a new member in Asia joining it.
If only CX leave Oneworld, multiple airlines(CZ, JX, HX, etc.) can join and expand the alliance-good for all the other Oneworld members!
@Lucky, are you sure AA still has an interline agreement with DL? I know there were reports of restoration a few years ago, but Sabre query indicates otherwise:
W/*DL¥*AA«
DL-006 DELTA AIR LINES INC/DELTA AIR LINES INC.
CANNOT ISSUE TKT-NO AGREEMENT ON FILE
AA-001 AMERICAN AIRLINES/AMERICAN AIRLINES, INC.
CANNOT CHECK BAGGAGE NO AGREEMENT ON FILE
AA
W/*AA¥*DL«
AA-001 AMERICAN AIRLINES/AMERICAN AIRLINES, INC.
CANNOT ISSUE TKT-NO AGREEMENT ON FILE
@Lucky, are you sure AA still has an interline agreement with DL? I know there were reports of restoration a few years ago, but Sabre query indicates otherwise:
W/*DL¥*AA«
DL-006 DELTA AIR LINES INC/DELTA AIR LINES INC.
CANNOT ISSUE TKT-NO AGREEMENT ON FILE
AA-001 AMERICAN AIRLINES/AMERICAN AIRLINES, INC.
CANNOT CHECK BAGGAGE NO AGREEMENT ON FILE
AA
W/*AA¥*DL«
AA-001 AMERICAN AIRLINES/AMERICAN AIRLINES, INC.
CANNOT ISSUE TKT-NO AGREEMENT ON FILE
DL-006 DELTA AIR LINES INC/DELTA AIR LINES INC.
CANNOT CHECK BAGGAGE NO AGREEMENT ON FILE
DL
In terms of JV with JAL, I think it should be fine given that UA has a JV with ANA yet still partners with EVA (so would mirror what an AA, JX and JAL). The bigger question is CX although Star Alliance has Air China, Thai and Singapore which are in close proximity too. I hope this does happen but I’m sure CX would want some concessions from Starlux in terms of competitive routing
UA doesn’t really partner much with BR, other than belonging to the same alliance. There’s no codeshare agreements and BR sends their customers onto AS for domestic US connectivity. (Same with CI and DL, where CI interlines with AS and WN but not DL).
It’ll be interesting to see if AA maintains (or expands) their partnership with JX once JX actually starts expanding their North American network, or if they’ll follow UA and DL’s footsteps in snubbing non-JV partners.
Interesting timing after the discussion here last week about both American’s premium ambitions and just how impressive Starlux can be. Starlux may not be joining OW anytime soon, but between its increasingly close relationship with Alaska and now a codeshare with American, it’s starting to look remarkably like a OW partner from this side of the Pacific anyway. If aadvatage reciprocity comes next, Cathay may eventually discover that keeping someone out of the club doesn’t...
Interesting timing after the discussion here last week about both American’s premium ambitions and just how impressive Starlux can be. Starlux may not be joining OW anytime soon, but between its increasingly close relationship with Alaska and now a codeshare with American, it’s starting to look remarkably like a OW partner from this side of the Pacific anyway. If aadvatage reciprocity comes next, Cathay may eventually discover that keeping someone out of the club doesn’t necessarily stop the other members from inviting them over for drinks.
CX doesn't wanna piss off Winnie.
Oh bother...
it's all because AA has no better friends to get in the market.
that being said, JX is an airline with lcc customer base disguised as a premium airline. the reason? Taiwan simply does not have enough business contracts to support three full-service carriers. Just look at their destinations: Hakodate, Shimojishima...... who else flies there internationally? Jin Air, TigerAir Taiwan, ohhh......
it may sound like a hot take for now, but it will...
it's all because AA has no better friends to get in the market.
that being said, JX is an airline with lcc customer base disguised as a premium airline. the reason? Taiwan simply does not have enough business contracts to support three full-service carriers. Just look at their destinations: Hakodate, Shimojishima...... who else flies there internationally? Jin Air, TigerAir Taiwan, ohhh......
it may sound like a hot take for now, but it will be either a JX and BR merger or JX bankruptcy. An airline does not survive on influencers or fanfare.
business contracts? taiwan never ran on those. the market is outbound leisure and southeast asia to north america connecting over TPE. record outbound year in 2025, up 12 percent. that is what CI and BR built their transpacific flying on, not business travelers filling up J.
and the cargo point cuts the other way. CI books about 31% of revenue as freight across 18 freighters. EVA's president says AI shipments are up to half...
business contracts? taiwan never ran on those. the market is outbound leisure and southeast asia to north america connecting over TPE. record outbound year in 2025, up 12 percent. that is what CI and BR built their transpacific flying on, not business travelers filling up J.
and the cargo point cuts the other way. CI books about 31% of revenue as freight across 18 freighters. EVA's president says AI shipments are up to half of cargo revenue now. JX has 15 A350Fs coming from 2028. the island that makes 80% of the parts...... there is plenty to carry.
hakodate, shimojishima, fine. but who else flies those as a full service carrier? nobody. jin air, HK express, tigerair...... that is JX taking routes CI and BR will not put a widebody on. uncontested, not downmarket.
and a BR merger? chang kuo-wei founded starlux after losing the evergreen succession fight to his half brothers. that is a family feud, not a synergy case. an airline does not merge on sentiment either.
@Steve
CI is world's 15th largest cargo airline. I am wondering how Starlux can find its way in this TPAC cargo rat race.
"the market is outbound leisure and southeast asia to north america connecting over TPE" - they can also connecting over HKG, TYO, ICN, SIN, and even Doha or Dubai. I don't see how JX would have any pricing advantage against these big players in the market.
@WaywardAlpaca
"an insatiable...
@Steve
CI is world's 15th largest cargo airline. I am wondering how Starlux can find its way in this TPAC cargo rat race.
"the market is outbound leisure and southeast asia to north america connecting over TPE" - they can also connecting over HKG, TYO, ICN, SIN, and even Doha or Dubai. I don't see how JX would have any pricing advantage against these big players in the market.
@WaywardAlpaca
"an insatiable home market to demand these high fares" - Taiwan has shy of 24m people, and a good amount of them live in the southern part - for them, train to Taoyuan or layover through HKG sounds similar. And Taiwan's median income is $24,000 while an apartment in Taipei can easily rise beyond $1m. I don't see a lot of premium customer base here, as most people in Taiwan are either overworking at TSMC with nearly zero PTO or being frugal as hell to pay their mortgage, sometimes both.
JX has carved out a niche of serving premium vacation destinations out of TPE. If you ever tried to book a flight with them on their routes to Japan, you’ll notice that their fares are far from LCC-levels (on the markets where they do compete, their fares often match or exceed those of CI and BR). They have the premium reputation, contracts with local travel agencies, and an insatiable home market to demand these high...
JX has carved out a niche of serving premium vacation destinations out of TPE. If you ever tried to book a flight with them on their routes to Japan, you’ll notice that their fares are far from LCC-levels (on the markets where they do compete, their fares often match or exceed those of CI and BR). They have the premium reputation, contracts with local travel agencies, and an insatiable home market to demand these high fares. They aren’t likely to go out of business soon (unless something terrible happens to the Taiwanese economy lol)
That said, it’ll be interesting to see if they eventually shift their network to more business oriented markets once they take delivery of more planes.
Starlux is being blocked by Cathay?
Cathay operates a mini-hub at TPE. If they continue to block then maybe the Taiwan gov should consider revoking all their fifth freedoms.
They probably are, but no need to start a war over this... *gulp*
they already did. that is why CX cannot fly to TSA.
Fwiw CX has been quietly cutting routes out of TPE, including to ICN, FUK, etc., leaving NRT, NGO, and KIX. These are huge markets for O/D traffic but CX is far from a dominant player. Wonder if they’ll continue to stick around…
yes, i agree!
AA best times were in the past, including. a HUGE flight network ex JFK base.
Had a lot of neighbors and friends based there. All over and even the good partnerships are gone, strangely ALL i do remember (TK, LX (SR), SN) are now at the same alliance, except AA!
Very sad development, especially as AA was my first frequent flyer account in my life since 1989 and gave me many free flights i took, mostly to Hawaii, ex Germany. Was a bargain.
I think this should be Starlux's whole strategy going forward. "We're not going to join oneworld because of CX, but we'll build codeshare and loyalty partnerships with every OW member except CX."
Expensive? Yes. Petty? Also yes.
Nice.
Petty on the part of CX, for sure.
You obviously realize CX is likely blocking it not for competitive reasons but for political ones given the situation between China and Taiwan right?!
Still no nonstop from JFK while their competitors both have one.
To your routing point, I actually liked connecting at HND en route to Taipei. Allowed for a few days in Japan on the return. JAL A35K is a great ride. JAL First lounge is excellent. Pushing through longer travel day outbound helped with jet lag slightly.
Someday... JX really should fly JFK-TPE, nonstop, on its own also-glorious 35K... *fingers crossed*
Of course, JAL (and ANA) are still fantastic, and, the more, the merrier!
You missed the news of Starlux also partnering with Smartwings for feeders in Prague. Apparently as a premium airline, Starlux decided to partner with the crappiest possible airline in every market :D
It’s just an interline agreement with QS, allowing connecting flights to be booked on the same ticket and for bags to be checked though. It’s the lowest possible level of airline partnership.
Plus, there isn’t really an alternative partner available at PRG, is there? OK has been slowly killed off after their merger with QS, and the only other airline who has a base there is FR. Personally I’d probably avoid any itineraries involving...
It’s just an interline agreement with QS, allowing connecting flights to be booked on the same ticket and for bags to be checked though. It’s the lowest possible level of airline partnership.
Plus, there isn’t really an alternative partner available at PRG, is there? OK has been slowly killed off after their merger with QS, and the only other airline who has a base there is FR. Personally I’d probably avoid any itineraries involving QS, but it’s still nice that the option exists for those who find it useful.
Not sure why they fly to Prague in the first place but for an eastern carrier it's a properly located gateway to most of western Europe.
The smartwings network is very southern Europe pleasure oriented with schedule that does not match well the morning departure, so Id be surprised they get any feed.
OW is is need for an eastern alternate hub to HEL. PRG or BUD would fit nicely if yields can...
Not sure why they fly to Prague in the first place but for an eastern carrier it's a properly located gateway to most of western Europe.
The smartwings network is very southern Europe pleasure oriented with schedule that does not match well the morning departure, so Id be surprised they get any feed.
OW is is need for an eastern alternate hub to HEL. PRG or BUD would fit nicely if yields can be jacked up, but the economy in the region is not as dynamic as before 2020.
Queue endless questions on here about "I have an AA credit card & I'm flying on Starlux in PE, can I get access to the Qantas lounge at LAX?"
Can I? Helping you out here, given that nobody asked.
Great for American customers, horrible for Starlux customers.
There's enough AA does wrong (and I'm a huge fan of calling them out) that you don't need to dunk on a genuinely good move. Let's not pretend that access to AA's domestic route isn't a huge boon to Starlux.
Exactly!
The rest of the world knows it's a step down to fly on AA, UA and DL.
However, a lot of foreigners love the whole Americana vibe, so it's a thing.
"Great for American customers, horrible for Starlux customers."
Then it's a good thing that no Starlux customer, from now until forever, will be nonconsensually forced by the airline to buy a ticket that includes a flight on American.
For all the dunking on American, I am hopeful my AAdvantage stash will be even more valuable if/when I can redeem them on Condor and Starlux.
ThAAts the spirit! (I mean, well, obviously not Spirit. Ok, how’s this…’They’re greAAT!’)
AS partnership is enough. AA would make J availability more cutthroat than it already is. Please no.
Starlux and American should act as an alliance, even if Starlux isn't admitted due to Cathay Pacific veto. Let Starlux and American have relations and CX can refuse cooperation with Starlux.
Cathay Pacific operates flights from TPE to Japan.
Yeah, I think that this'll turn out similar to the existing relationship between AA and CZ, with the latter also not being in oneWorld cos of CX
Huge (good), if true.
I would assume they aren't codesharing with them out of PHX as AA have some fantasy that someday they will apply for route authority PHX-TPE and having an existing codeshare on the route would make approval more difficult.
Weird that it doesn’t include PHX/TSMC.
Not really.
Outside of a revenue sharing joint-venture, it's not surprising that Starlux wouldn't want American too close (and deriving significant third party data) on its contracts with TSMC. They may codeshare, but without a j.v, they're still competitors at the end of the day.
@STEFFL
Sleep with a dog (AA), you get fleas... Hope Starlux can keep their standards high.
JX DOES have an interline partnership with CX. They even have a special prorate agreement for TPE-(JX)-HKG-(CX)-Mainland China tickets. Not all interline agreements are advertised. On the other hand, AA does not code-share with CX's TPE flights.
AA and Starlux should partner up beyond a simple interline agreement. Apply for a codeshare and Starlux should begin serving DFW (AA's largest hub) and in essence thwart Eva's plan to begin serving DFW. It is only a matter of time before Starlux gets an invitation to join ONEWORLD so why wait? With Alaska already being a partner of both airlines, a combined AL/AA/JX partnership could be the future with all the major cities west...
AA and Starlux should partner up beyond a simple interline agreement. Apply for a codeshare and Starlux should begin serving DFW (AA's largest hub) and in essence thwart Eva's plan to begin serving DFW. It is only a matter of time before Starlux gets an invitation to join ONEWORLD so why wait? With Alaska already being a partner of both airlines, a combined AL/AA/JX partnership could be the future with all the major cities west of the Mississippi River blanketed by this venture.
same Info in AMADEUS!
NO interlining on baggage nor ticketing on either stock 006 or 001.
Amadeus sometimes is NOT up to date, but since the latest info is from 2018 on Interlining, i think it is actual, so Info in post is not correct.
As far as i remember, DELTA cancelled it back in the big troubled time of AA with schedule problem's. (THINK TO HAVE SOMETHING IN MY BACK-HEAD ABOUT THAT)
Reservation Systems show NO INTERLINING AA/DL OR DL/AA.
LONG time ago, before the 1990's to be exact!
AA will never return to what it once was. Not in profitability nor the competitive service offered on the Ground or in the Air!
On the topic of interline agreements, there is a hidden one between United and Garuda, which isn't displayed but can be booked through UA. Wonder if there is something more there, especially with the SGN, BKK expansion, and the way Bali tourism has trended in the past 10 years.
I expected them to partner with DL for the premium factor. This agreement with AA surprises me but maybe it's the first of many baby steps to raise AA quality & profitability. It was for a long time considered THE business airline.
It could probably be JAL too blocking the move. Why would they want to see an airline atleast as good as themselves serving the West coast of the US competing with them to places like BKK and SIN.
If JX isn't allowed to enter OneWorld, I think they should partner with every OW carrier with the exception of CX.
AS/JX FF reciprocity is really basic. You can earn/burn but there are no status benefits.
This is a positive step for Starlux since they don't have many interline partners currently. (For example, Starlux does not have interline with CX.) I think there could be a code sharing between the two soon (I'm more optimistic than Ben here) but who knows when. AA is the only big three US carrier not flying to TPE; instead, AA has code sharing with JL and CX to TPE. With Taiwan growing to become a...
This is a positive step for Starlux since they don't have many interline partners currently. (For example, Starlux does not have interline with CX.) I think there could be a code sharing between the two soon (I'm more optimistic than Ben here) but who knows when. AA is the only big three US carrier not flying to TPE; instead, AA has code sharing with JL and CX to TPE. With Taiwan growing to become a major tech hub, it would make sense for AA to have a partner in Taiwan.
both Taiwanese airlines know that they need connections to support their PHX flights.
WN gets one and AA gets the other.
EVA Air used to codeshare with AA before joining Star Alliance.