Emirates and United sign partnership agreement: for frequent flyers, it's (almost) insignificant news

The news was in the air, and today it became official. United and Emirates have signed a partnership and code-share agreement starting next November. So we have gone from an all-out war, with United having opposed the Gulf carriers and EK in particular for years, to a partnership destined to shift the travel habits of so many passengers.

One step back

Emirates has always been the ultimate enemy of the "big 3." namely the three major U.S. airlines that accused the made-in-Dubai carrier of unfair competition. American Airlines did a deal with Qatar, Delta is in the same alliance as Saudia. Then Covid-19 came along and everything changed, the banquet was missing only United, which has now definitely gone into business with the Emirates carrier.

Emirates has always sought an American partner, first trying with Alaska, then with JetBlue, and in this case things went well for a couple of years, but the real target has always been United.

The collaboration

From a route perspective, the benefits will mainly be for passengers who can take advantage of the convenience of a single check-in and transits at the two hubs in Newark and Dubai.

• From November 2022, Emirates will begin interlining with United at major U.S. airports, meaning customers will be able to book Emirates and United on a single ticket, simplifying check-in and giving Emirates customers access to 200 + destinations in the U.S. and the rest of the Star Alliance member carrier's network
• United will launch a daily flight from Newark to Dubai, in March passengers will be able to take advantage of connections to the entire network of destinations departing from Dubai.

Much more lukewarm news in the frequent flyer key: Those who were hoping to use Skywards points to book tickets on United rail should rest their hearts, at least in the beginning.

• Emirates Skywards members will only be able to accumulate miles and do not book award tickets
• United MileagePlus members will be able to earn and redeem miles only on the route between Newark and Dubai, and vice versa.
• Frequent flyers will receive reciprocal access to the lounge While connecting to or from flights between the United States and the United Arab Emirates

In conclusion

I expected much more, considering that the collaboration between Emirates and JetBlue allowed not only to earn miles on any flight, but more importantly it was possible to use Skywards points to book award tickets on any flight of the American carrier. Of course, we are only at the beginning here, but the innovations announced are not disruptive at all.

For us frequent Italian travelers, this change is pejorative, we hope that the collaboration will expand into something more beneficial.

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