Continental, Delta, Northwest Begin Code Sharing

Delta Air Lines this weekend began code sharing with Northwest Airlines and will initiate similar cooperation with Continental Airlines on July 15. Codesharing marks the next step in the domestic trilateral alliance, following integration of other customer service elements.

Specifically, Delta now shares codes on several Northwest-operated flights from Memphis, while Northwest's code now is on several Delta-operated flights from Salt Lake City. Starting July 2, Delta will place its code on Northwest flights to Tokyo from New York JFK, San Francisco and Seattle Tacoma. Effective July 15, Continental will place its code on a number of Delta-operated flights from Atlanta and Salt Lake City, while Delta places its code on certain Continental flights from Cleveland.

Continental and Northwest already share codes on a wide array of flights, dating to 1998. Delta will enhance cooperation with both carriers by adding additional codeshare flights as the trilateral alliance matures.

The three partners already have launched reciprocal frequent flyer accrual and airport lounge access. Reciprocal and seamless frequent flyer redemption begins July 15.