The St. Croix-based Seaborne Airlines announced that it will codeshare with American Airlines on flights from San Juan Airport to Vieques, Tortola Beef Island, Virgin Gorda, Guadeloupe, Dominica’s Melville Hall Airport, and Martinique. 
St. Thomas’ Cyril E. King Airport and St. Croix’s Henry E. Rohlsen Airport are not on the list.
“American covers St. Thomas and St. Croix from Miami,” said Seaborne President Gary Foss.
He said that for American to codeshare with Seaborne from San Juan would “step on” the number of passengers flying to the U.S. Virgin Islands from its Miami hub. He said this would drive up costs and impact American’s efforts to build up its Miami operation.
According to Foss, American Airline’s commuter airline, American Eagle, pulled out of the San Juan to St. Thomas and St. Croix routes because the airline wanted to make Miami a bigger hub.
However, Seaborne does have a traffic and luggage agreement with American so passengers don’t have to pick up their bags in San Juan before boarding their next flight. In a press release, Seaborne recommended that for an easy transfer of luggage, passengers book their entire trip on a single itinerary through American Airlines’ website or through Internet travel agencies such as Travelocity, Orbitz, Expedia or Priceline. If using www.aa.com, choose “more options” then “all carriers.”
In its announcement of the codeshare agreement to other Caribbean destinations, Seaborne said that members of American Airlines Aadvantage frequent flyer program will be eligible to earn miles on the codeshare flights operated by Seaborne. American’s customers will be able to redeem miles on Seaborne flights later this year.
Members of Seaborne’s frequent flyer program, SeaMiles, however, cannot convert them to AAdvantage miles. Additionally they can’t be used for travel on American.
The codeshare agreement with American to Vieques, Tortola Beef Island, Virgin Gorda, Guadeloupe, Dominica’s Melville Hall Airport, and Martinique help American improve its service to those areas.
“American is committed to providing our customers with easy and convenient access to destinations around the globe,” said Kurt Stache, American Airlines’ vice president for strategic alliances, in a press release. “This new codeshare relationship with Seaborne affirms that commitment by expanding our global network to include more travel options to the Caribbean.”
Code sharing is a co-operative arrangement whereby airlines carry passengers whose tickets have been issued by another airline. The intent is to provide passengers with a wider choice of destinations than any individual airline might offer on its own.
