American Airlines has tightened its ties to Brazil’s GOL Airlines, and will soon announce details of a joint loyalty program as well as exclusive code-sharing. The announcement came with completion of a plan to invest $200 million in GOL for a 5.2% ownership share.
It is not clear whether GOL’s SMILES will be folded into AAdvantage, though that’s the plan for another South American carrier American has linked up with, Chile-based JetSmart. At the minimum, American says it will share a co-branded credit card with GOL.
The moves reflect both American’s desire to extend its route network through partner airlines with strong networks of their own, and the loss of its previous tight connection with LATAM Airlines. That connection was broken when Delta became a major investor in LATAM and pulled it into its orbit, including switching from Oneworld to the Sky Team alliance.
