United and Singapore Airlines are
seeking permission to begin codesharing on July 1.
The two Star Alliance members
would start the partnership slowly. Their Department of Transportation application filed on May 9 says that the first codeshares would involve
eight domestic routes that United operates from Houston. The destinations are
Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Miami, Tampa and New Orleans.
But the application also suggests
that the carriers have bigger plans for the future. United and
Singapore have asked for blanket authorization to codeshare on routes within
the U.S., between the U.S. and Singapore, and between either the U.S. or
Singapore and third-party countries covered under open-skies agreements in
which the U.S. and Singapore are signatories.
The application comes as both airlines plan to begin nonstop flights between the U.S. and Singapore. United will be first, commencing service from San Francisco to
Singapore on June 1. The route will be the longest offered by a U.S. carrier.
Singapore plans to resume nonstop service between its home base and both Los
Angeles and the New York area in 2018. The carrier dropped Los Angeles and Newark routes in
2013 amid high oil prices. Once resumed, the Singapore-New York area service
(Singapore hasn't revealed if it will fly to Newark or Kennedy) would be the longest direct flight in the sky.