New perks for frequent flyers of both

Delta Air Lines and Alaska Airlines said they have agreed to an expanded partnership that will mean additional benefits for frequent flyers sometime next year. Besides an expansion of code-sharing and connecting possibilities for customers of both airlines – especially in support of new Delta long-haul routes from the west coast to Asian and Latin American destinations – the agreement will mean new perks for the two airlines’ best customers. By the end of 2009, the airlines said, members of Delta’s Crown Room Clubs and new subsidiary Northwest’s WorldClubs will be able to use Alaska Board Room airport lounges in Anchorage, Seattle, Los Angeles, Portland, San Francisco and Vancouver; and Alaska Board Room members will have system-wide access to Crown Room Clubs and WorldClubs. What’s more, Delta SkyMiles elite members and Alaska Mileage Plan elites will have reciprocal privileges on each other’s airlines, including priority boarding, check-in, and seat assignments; and reciprocal upgrade priority for Platinum or Gold level members. (Alaska and Northwest Platinum and Gold elites already have reciprocal upgrade privileges.) Delta said the partnership will also use Alaska connections to feed its new west coast routes, like the Seattle-Beijing service that subsidiary Northwest will begin next March, and the Los Angeles-Sao Paulo route that Delta plans to launch in the spring.