Air Premia, a long-haul low-cost carrier (LCC), has temporarily suspended its interline agreement with Alaska Airlines after about six months. The indefinite suspension is due to Alaska Airlines reviewing its interline policy following its merger with Hawaiian Airlines.
An interline agreement is a business partnership where a specific airline sells segments of another airline's routes in conjunction with its own operating routes. Air Premia operates flights only to Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco in the United States, allowing customers traveling from those cities to use Alaska Airlines flights to connect to other cities within the U.S.
According to the airline industry on the 8th, Air Premia suspended its interline arrangement with Alaska Airlines as of the 1st. Consequently, sales of interline connections with Alaska Airlines will be halted, and changes or cancellations for passengers who purchased tickets before the suspension will also be conducted.
Air Premia established its interline agreement with Alaska Airlines to expand its routes in the Americas, allowing it to sell tickets for 119 routes within the U.S. and six Latin American countries (Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, the Bahamas, and Belize). Customers using the interline service can complete their travel itinerary without check-in and baggage claim during transfers. Due to regulations, travelers must retrieve their luggage and go through customs when transferring at U.S. airports, so they have to undergo this process if they purchase individual tickets for their transfers.
As of the end of last year, Air Premia owned six aircraft and has actively utilized interline agreements to achieve effects similar to increasing its operating routes. Not being part of an airline alliance has constrained its ability to participate in code sharing, a practice where two airlines operate and sell the same flight, leading it to adopt such strategies. From Air Premia's perspective, the suspension of the interline agreement has hindered its route operating strategy.
There are observations that the lack of synergy between the two companies may have influenced the interline suspension. Interline travel was primarily sold through online travel agencies (OTAs), and many tickets had long wait times between transfer routes. Furthermore, with Alaska Airlines set to launch its Seattle-Incheon route in the second half of this year, it is also anticipated to focus on attracting transfer passengers utilizing that route rather than on interline services.
An Air Premia representative noted, "Alaska Airlines decided to suspend the interline agreement as it restructures its strategy following the merger with Hawaiian Airlines. We will continually aim to expand our interline agreements to facilitate route expansion."