September 16, 2022: – United Airlines and Emirates are bartering seats on each other’s planes, which makes a turnaround in the business models of the one-time foes.

As part of the deal, United said it would start flights to Emirates’ hub in Dubai from Newark Liberty International Airport in March.

On Wednesday, the codeshare agreement, which the CEO, will give the airlines access to the different carrier’s destinations and is the recent example of thawing in the relationships between U.S. and Gulf airlines, mainly as international air travel rebounds from over two years of Covid-19 pandemic.

Tim Clark, Emirates’ president, added that he hopes the United agreement could someday grow into a joint venture, such as the one the Dubai-based airline has with Australian carrier Qantas.

“I don’t see why it shouldn’t,” Clark said that reporters at an event unveiling the deal with United at a hangar at Dulles International Airport, near Washington, D.C.

If regulators approve the partnership, it will allow passengers to earn and burn frequent flyer miles on each carrier.

United and other major U.S. carriers such as Delta Air Lines and American Airlines had spent years lobbying against big Persian Gulf airlines’ expansion in the U.S, which argued the state-owned carriers were competing unfairly gives from government subsidies, which those countries denied.

Emirates said it ended its codeshare partnership with United rival JetBlue Airways last week on October 30. Therefore, Abu Dhabi-based Etihad said it would expand its partnership with New York-based JetBlue.

In June, Qatar Airways and American Airlines said they would expand their codeshare partnership.