Virgin Atlantic Applies To USDOT For SAS Codeshare Approval On Transatlantic Flights

Virgin Atlantic has requested the Department of Transportation (DOT) to approve its codeshare agreement with Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) following the latter airline’s move to join SkyTeam.

Services between the UK and the US

According to the DOT filing published on December 2, Virgin Atlantic has requested the DOT to permit the airline to display SAS’ SK designator code on its flights between the United Kingdom and the United States.

The airline requested an expedited process that would enable both airlines to begin the proposed services as soon as possible.

SAS and Virgin Atlantic announced their codeshare agreement on October 4, with the services launching three days later. At the time, the statement said that the partnership would allow SAS customers to connect via London Heathrow Airport (LHR) “to additional Virgin Atlantic’s destinations, with availability expanding as approvals are finalized.”

Meanwhile, Virgin Atlantic’s passengers would be able to connect on flights from Canada or the US via London-Heathrow or Manchester Airport (MAN) to SAS’ hubs and destinations such as Copenhagen Airport (CPH), Bergen Airport (BGO), Oslo Gardermoen Airport (OSL), Stavanger Airport (SVG), and Stockholm Arlanda Airport (ARN).

SAS emphasized that since Virgin Atlantic was the only UK-based carrier within SkyTeam, with the former joining the alliance on September 1, all SAS EuroBonus members will receive instant earning and redeeming opportunities while traveling on the latter’s flights.

Covering Heathrow initially

The DOT filing detailed that Virgin Atlantic plans to display SAS’ designator code on flights between the US and London-Heathrow initially. The British carrier currently serves 11 US destinations from the British capital’s airport and three from Manchester.

Virgin Atlantic argued that the codeshare agreement was in the public interest and that it would provide significant benefits to passengers flying between these markets. Furthermore, the partnership would stimulate demand, increase competition, and improve customer convenience with single-airline bookings.

When SAS and Virgin Atlantic announced their codeshare, Juha Jarvinen, the chief commercial officer (CCO) of Virgin Atlantic, said that the airline was delighted to launch such a partnership with a fellow SkyTeam carrier.

The partnership would enhance connectivity and offer greater customer benefits to the airlines’ frequent flyers. Meanwhile, Paul Verhagen, the CCO of SAS, added that the Scandinavian carrier was now adding new and exciting destinations to its network, such as Barbados, Jamaica, and Antigua.

“We look forward to building a long-lasting and successful partnership with our SkyTeam partner, benefitting travellers on both sides.”

Aligning itself closer with SkyTeam

Previously, Delta Air Lines and SAS had applied for a codeshare agreement with the DOT, which the Department eventually approved on September 10.

The two airlines’ agreement resulted in the carriers displaying each other’s designator codes on flights between the US and Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, between points in the US, between points in the three Scandinavian countries, and beyond the four countries.

However, JetBlue tried to object to the codeshare agreement, arguing that the DOT should not authorize the Delta Air Lines and SAS partnership until issues with its own codeshare agreement with Air Serbia were resolved.

The latter partnership would allow JetBlue to sell codeshare flights from the US to Italy and Croatia via Serbia. However, since Serbia is not a member of the European Union (EU), JetBlue still had to wait for Croatia and Italy to approve the codeshare applications.

“JetBlue argues that Delta and SAS seek to code share to Croatia and Italy and at least three other European countries – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, and Montenegro (which are in the ECAA [European Common Aviation Area – ed. note] single market but not in the EU) – that are analogous to the code sharing JetBlue seeks to do but is being denied by EU Member States.”

The DOT concluded that JetBlue’s codeshare services with Air Serbia may be materially different and that the Delta Air Lines and SAS proposed services were lawful under the US-EU Air Transport Agreement, permitting the latter pair to codeshare to points within the ECAA.

SAS joined SkyTeam on September 1 following its Chapter 11 bankruptcy and company reorganization processes, with Air France-KLM taking a 19.9% stake in the Scandinavian carrier. In addition, the Franco-Dutch airline group owns 4.8% of SAS’ convertible notes.