Korean Air and WestJet Strengthen Codeshare Agreement

Korean Air and WestJet have strengthened their bilateral codeshare agreement, just in time for the latter’s launch of thrice-weekly Calgary–Seoul (Incheon) service.

Under the new agreement, Korean Air will place its flight number on WestJet’s Calgary–Seoul route, while WestJet will place its flight numbers on Korean Air’s Bangkok, Da Nang, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, and Singapore services.

Korean Air and WestJet Strengthen Codeshare Agreement

Korean Air and WestJet are offering more routes for their respective passengers under an enhanced codeshare agreement.

As a reminder, codeshare agreements are a business arrangement, wherein carriers place their own flight codes on another carrier’s flights to offer more choice to passengers. 

For the most part, with codeshare flights, you can expect baggage allowance, elite status benefits, and miles/points accrual as if you were flying the airline that sold you the ticket – the “marketing carrier”.

More importantly, you can expect a seamless transfer between flights, since codeshare flights allow you and your bags to be through-checked to your final destination.

Under the new agreement, Korean Air will place its flight number on WestJet’s seasonal Calgary–Seoul service, which are set to begin on May 17, 2024 on Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. 

In other words, while the flight will be operated by WestJet, it can be sold with a Korean Air flight number with this enhanced codeshare agreement. 

This will allow Korean Air to connect passengers between Calgary and its Asian destinations, including Manila, Jakarta, and Taipei, with only one stop in Seoul.

Meanwhile, WestJet will add its flight number on Korean Air’s services to Bangkok, Da Nang, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

Meant to supplement WestJet’s Calgary–Seoul services, these codeshare flights will likewise allow passengers from Calgary to fly to these destinations with only one stop in Seoul, all sold on the same WestJet ticket.

This new partnership increases cooperation between Korean Air and WestJet, which now jointly offer 36 routes.

Calgary Further Opens Up to Asia

This new codeshare agreement is undoubtedly beneficial to those living in Calgary, as well as cities nearby, such as Edmonton and Red Deer.

It means more convenient options to connect to destinations across Asia, which were less possible prior to WestJet launching its Tokyo and Seoul services. Before, those flying from Calgary to Ho Chi Minh City, for example, required a connection through Vancouver and an Asian hub.

With this new agreement, tourists and members of the Asian diaspora will only need to connect through Seoul (Incheon), which is widely lauded as one of the best airports in the world.

You can now book your codeshare tickets through the respective Korean Air and WestJet sales channels, with both carriers offering economy class and business class tickets on entire journeys.

As a tip, compare the pricing of your intended flights between the two carriers, since codeshare agreements don’t necessarily mean that the pricing is the same.

For example, the same standard economy tickets between Calgary and Ho Chi Minh City might cost $2,687 (CAD) with Korean Air, or $3,322 (CAD) if purchased through WestJet.

However, booking with WestJet allows you to use your WestJet points (WSD) against the base fare, if you’d like to redeem them to offset the cost of your flights.

Conclusion

Korean Air and WestJet have strengthened their codeshare partnership with the upcoming launch of the latter’s Calgary–Seoul flights.

Under the new agreement, Korean Air will place its flight number on WestJet’s Calgary–Seoul service, allowing it to sell one-stop tickets between Calgary and its extensive Asian network.

Meanwhile, WestJet will add its flight number on Korean Air’s flights between Seoul and Bangkok, Da Nang, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, and Singapore. This will likewise allow the Calgary-based airline to sell one-stop tickets to these destinations.

This new partnership increases cooperation between Korean Air and WestJet, which now jointly offer 36 routes.