American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia celebrate a key milestone today as fellow oneworld® alliance member Finnair announces its intent to hitch the transatlantic joint business, established by the 3 airlines in October 2010.
Once Finnair joins the transatlantic joint business later this year, customers in North America and Europe may have increased number of flights and services in addition more straightforward connections to flights around the Atlantic.
As a part of the joint business, Finnair will add its (AY*) code to chose American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia flights between North America and Europe (EU, plus Norway and Switzerland). American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia will add their respective (AA*), (BA*) and (IB*) code to Finnair’s daily flights between Big apple and Helsinki. All together, the joint business will operate as much as 102 daily round trips between North America and Europe, serving 42 gateways on both sides of the Atlantic. Customers will even have access to an extra 163 onward connections in North America and 126 in Europe.
New horizons for patrons on either side of the Atlantic
Benefits for purchasers of the four airlines include:
* Coordinated schedules on joint business routes, providing customers with more flight choices and more straightforward times
* Members of the four airlines’ frequent flyer programs – Iberia Plus, American Airlines AAdvantage®, British Airways Executive Club and Finnair Plus – would be capable of earn points or miles at the new codeshare flights
* Dedicated support teams for purchasers transferring at seven of the airlines’ hubs: Big apple JFK, London Heathrow, Madrid, Chicago, Miami, Dallas and La.
* Online check-in and boarding pass printing with either the airline operating the flight, or the web site of the airline used to book travel
“Our participation on this venture will significantly increase the portfolio of accessible destinations to Finnair’s existing customers, in addition to open up Northern Europe to a complete new network of potential travellers,” says Allister Paterson, Finnair’s Senior Vice chairman, Commercial. “Fare combinability between the four carriers also brings more ticket flexibility to customers, because the fares and prerequisites are identical between the airlines. A business traveler soon should be ready to combine American, British Airways, Iberian and Finnair routes flexibly when flying between Europe and North America.”
“American Airlines is delighted to welcome Finnair to the transatlantic joint business and leverage its extensive network across Northern Europe,” says Kurt Stache, American Airlines’ Vice chairman, Strategic Alliances. “The existing joint business has already brought many opportunities to our customers in its first two years along with coordination across schedules and enhanced frequent flyer benefits on each carrier. American looks forward to even greater integration around the four airlines that Finnair’s arrival will bring to the expanded joint business.”
“British Airways looks forward to Finnair joining the transatlantic joint business this year,” says Simon Talling-Smith, Chair, Atlantic Joint Business Management Committee, “the addition of the Helsinki hub to our joint business network will bring faster and easier connections for patrons on hundreds of city connections between Europe and North America. We’re excited with a view to offer more choice and new benefits to all our customers.”
“We are happy to welcome Finnair into the North Atlantic Joint Business,” says José Bolorinos, Iberia’s Senior Vice chairman, Strategy. “Finnair have been a very good partner of Iberia for decades. We started our code share cooperation with them within the year 2000. We’re sure their contribution will significantly expand the reach of the oneworld North Atlantic JB in Northern Europe and offer more service options for our customer.”
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