aword from oneworld: February 2003

27 February 2003

CODE-SHARING EXPANDED TO EASE TRAVEL TO MORE OF THE WORLD: More key steps have been taken by oneworld™ member airlines to increase code-sharing between them, making it easier for customers to transfer between their networks to reach more smoothly more of the 561 destinations they serve on a combined basis.

British Airways and its franchisee GB Airways are expanding code-sharing with Iberia onto another 17 routes between the Spain and UK home countries. It means the airlines will now share codes on 57 routes. The latest additions see the BA code added to Iberia flights between the UK airline's London Heathrow hub and the Spanish cities of Bilbao, Malaga, Santiago de Compostela, Seville and Valencia. At the same time, Iberia's marketing prefix has been placed on services operated by British Airways between London Gatwick and the Spanish oneworld partners two main hubs of Madrid and Barcelona, plus Bilbao, and on oneworld affiliate GB Airways' flights between London Gatwick and Almeria, Girona/Costa Brava, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Mahon/Menorca, Malaga, Seville and Valencia and between London Heathrow and Malaga.

British Airways has also increased code-sharing with oneworld's Hong Kong-based partner Cathay Pacific. From 4 March, the BA code will be added to a daily Cathay flight between Hong Kong and Seoul, providing smoother connections and improved choice for passengers travelling between the South Korean capital and London. At the same time, the CX prefix will be placed on selected BA flights between London Heathrow and both Copenhagen and Lisbon, providing improved transfers for passengers travelling between Hong Kong and the Danish and Portuguese capitals. It brings the number of code-share destinations between the two carriers to 19.

Heading east from Hong Kong, Cathay Pacific has now launched code-sharing with American Airlines, with its CX flight code now carried on services by American and its American Eagle affiliate to 20 cities across the USA, with connections to and from Cathay's own flights between its Hong Kong hub and its US gateways of Los Angeles, New York JFK and San Francisco. Destinations include Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Houston George Bush and Hobby airports, Las Vegas, Miami, Newark, Orlando, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Diego, San Jose, San Juan, St Louis and Washington Baltimore, Dulles and National airports. At the same time, the AA code is now added to Cathay Pacific flights between its Hong Kong hub and its US gateways of Los Angeles, New York JFK and San Francisco and on Cathay services connecting to its own flights at Tokyo. American customers will also be able to travel beyond Hong Kong to other cities in Asia.

American Eagle also now carries Finnair's AY code on connections between New York JFK and Providence and Montreal. Finnair has also added its code on services by another oneworld affiliate, with its AY prefix carried on flights operated by British Airways' franchisee Sun-Air serving Arhus and Billund from and to Gothenburg and Oslo.

UZBEKISTAN TO BE 136TH TERRITORY ON oneworld NETWORK: oneworld will extend its lead as the world's most international airline alliance next month when Uzbekistan will become the 136th territory served by its airlines, with affiliate British Mediterranean, which flies as a franchisee of British Airways, launching services on 30 March to Tashkent, capital of the republic which lies between Russia and the Himalayas. oneworld already serves more territories than any of its competitors.

SHANGHAI COMES ON LINE WITH NEW FINNAIR FLIGHTS: Shanghai will join the oneworld network in September when Finnair launches three flights a week to the booming Chinese city in the latest phase of its Asian expansion. As with Finnair's other Asian departures, Shanghai flights will leave Helsinki late in the afternoon, allowing for good connections from across Europe. Services from the Chinese city will also offer excellent transfers to the rest of Europe. The airline is meantime increasing frequencies to Beijing. A sixth weekly flight will be added from June and a seventh from the beginning of September, giving a daily service on the route.

QANTAS EXTENDS CITYFLYER TO CANBERRA: Qantas has extended its upgraded Cityflyer service to Canberra, offering 24 flights each week day between Sydney and the nation's capital, with departures at least every half hour during peak business travel periods. Cityflyer was already available on routes linking Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. It offers a service geared around business customers, streamlining the airport process with dedicated check-in, service desks, departure gates and baggage carousels, and offering extra benefits such as complimentary newspapers on weekdays, and complimentary beer and wine on services after 4pm.

AA TO LAUNCH SUMMER SERVICES TO ROME: American Airlines is launching flights between New York JFK and Rome from 1 May. It will operate the route daily until 24 October, with Boeing 767-300s offering two classes. AA will also add a seasonal second Dallas/Fort Worth-Paris flight four days a week from 6 April, building to a daily service from 1 June. Also from 1 June, American will add a twelfth weekly flight between Dallas/Fort Worth and Tokyo with Boeing 777s.

AMERICAN UNVEILS SPANISH LANGUAGE VERSION OF WEBSITE: American Airlines has launched a Spanish language version of its website AA.com, specially tailored to serve the needs of the Latin American market. www.aa.com/espanol offers a wide variety of AA's latest travel information, including travel deals, flight schedules, baggage and security regulations, AAdvantage frequent flyer promotions, fleet information, in-flight food and beverage information, and travel tips, along with the ability to make bookings.

IBERIA OFFERS CREDIT CARDS WITH CHIPS TO SPEED CHECK-IN: Iberia is introducing a new credit card, in conjunction with Visa, with a built-in microchip and radio antenna enabling holders to speed their journey through the airport when traveling on the airline's Madrid-Barcelona shuttle, enabling them to check-in and obtain their ticket and boarding cards merely by standing close to a self-service check-in machine. It can also be used as an ordinary credit card at millions of shops and cash dispensers around the world, with purchases earning Iberia Plus points.

IN-FLIGHT INTERNET TRIALS START ON BA FLIGHTS: British Airways has become the second oneworld carrier to offer customers internet and email connections in-flight. The UK carrier is carrying out trials of its new system on one of its daily services between London Heathrow and New York JFK. Cathay Pacific launched a similar service last year.

IBERIA ORDERS NINE A340-600S IN VOTE OF CONFIDENCE IN FUTURE: Iberia has chosen Airbus A340-600s to replace its Boeing 747s. It has ordered nine of the Airbuses, with options on another three in a move the airline described as a vote of confidence in the future. The first three firm orders will be delivered next year, five in 2005 and one in 2006.

LANCHILE TAKES TOP HONOURS: LanChile has been honoured by leading trade magazine Air Transport World, gaining its Market Leadership Award in recognition of its "reputation for adaptability and innovation that has pushed it into the forefront of the world airline industry". The Chilean oneworld member as also emerged with plaudits in a travel survey conducted by leading business magazine Latin Trade, for serving the best in-flight food and offrering the best airport lounge in Latin America. In the same survey, oneworld partner American Airlines was named best airline overall serving the region. The magazine's findings are based on feedback from more than 70,000 executives and frequent flyers in the region.

oneworld IN BRIEF: oneworld brings together some of the best and biggest names in the airline business – American Airlines, British Airways, Qantas, Iberia, Cathay Pacific, LanChile, Finnair and Aer Lingus - enabling them to offer their customers more services and benefits than any of them can can provide on its own. This includes a broader route network, opportunities to earn and redeem frequent flyer miles and points across the combined oneworld network and more airport lounges. Together, its members serve more countries than any other alliance – 135 territories and more than 550 destinations - and oneworld offers more alliance fare products, serving more markets, than all its competitors together. It was named the world's Best Airline Alliance by some of the world's most frequent flyers at the 2002 Business Traveller Awards, believed to be the first award for this sector of the travel industry. Its members' 1,900 aircraft operate nearly 8,700 flights a day.

ends