American Airlines and British Airways' move to unlock full customer potential of oneworld

04 August 2001

Vancouver, Friday, 3 August 2001: oneworld™, the global airline alliance, warmly welcomes the announcement today by American Airlines and British Airways - two of its founding members - that they are to file for regulatory approval to enable them to deepen their working relationship.

The message of strong support is given in a statement issued by Peter Buecking, oneworld's Managing Partner, on behalf of the chief executives of the other six airline members of the alliance:


  • Aer Lingus' John O'Donovan
  • Cathay Pacific's David Turnbull
  • Finnair's Keijo Suila
  • Iberia's Xabier de Irala
  • LanChile's Enrique Cueto
  • Qantas' Geoff Dixon.

It reads: "While oneworld's two leading transatlantic carriers are not permitted to work as closely together as counterparts in rival alliances, we are forced to compete on an uneven playing field. Nonetheless, we've worked hard, with some success, to bring real, worthwhile benefits to our customers. We would like to bring them even more.

"Approval for American Airlines and British Airways to work more closely together would significantly help us to unlock the full customer potential of oneworld, making travel better value and easier between Europe and the USA and indeed around the world. It would also free us to compete on an equal basis with our rivals – and every consumer knows the benefits that come with greater competition: better value and choice."

For futher information about the two airlines' agreement, go to website www.american-britishairways.com

For further information, contact:
Aer Lingus Media and Public Relations +353 1 886 2573
American Airlines Corporate Communications +1 817 967 1577
British Airways Press Office +44 181 738 5100
Cathay Pacific Corporate Communications +852 2747 5211
Finnair Corporate Communications +358 981 84970
Iberia Communications +34 91 587 7462
LanChile Communications +562 565 2856
Qantas Public Affairs +61 2 9691 3468

oneworld logos and other material are available in the Press Gallery

Further background on each of the carriers are available on their web sites:
www.aerlingus.ie
www.aa.com
www.britishairways.com
www.cathaypacific.com
www.finnair.com
www.iberia.es
www.lanchile.com
www.qantas.com.au