aword from oneworld: October 2002

01 November 2002

QANTAS TAKES TOP 'OSCAR' AS oneworld DOMINATES IFE AWARDS: oneworld™ airlines have won seven of the ten airline industry "Oscars" for in-flight entertainment this year – with Qantas taking the top award for best overall in-flight entertainment at the annual meeting of the World Association of Entertainment on Airlines.
The Australian airline also picked up the prizes for best in-flight audio entertainment and best main screen/overhead video programming, with Cathay Pacific Airways awarded two "Avions", for best multi-video programming and best in-flight entertainment guide published separate from the magazine. Iberia won the trophy for best in-flight video magazine, and American Airlines for best single In-flight audio programme.

CODE-SHARING EXPANDED TO SMOOTH TRAVEL BETWEEN NETWORKS: oneworld member airlines Aer Lingus, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, Finnair, Iberia, LanChile and Qantas continue to expand code-sharing in further steps to make it easier still for passengers to travel across the alliance's combined network – which now covers 134 countries and territories, more than any other global alliance serves, and 553 destinations.
· British Airways and Iberia now carry one another's flight prefices on all their services between their London Heathrow and Madrid and Barcelona hubs, offering between them 11 flights a day between Heathrow and Madrid and eight between the London airport and Barcelona.
· The IB code is also now placed on Aer Lingus flights between London and Dublin, and on its flights serving Cork and Shannon to and from both Dublin and London. The two airlines already code-share on one another's services between Dublin and both Barcelona and Madrid.
· Qantas has added its QF flight prefix to a 16th destination in North American through its code-sharing with American Airlines – Denver with connections to and from Australia over Los Angeles.
· American also hopes to start code-sharing soon with Cathay Pacific following the recent agreement on air services between the US and Hong Kong authorities.

ADELAIDE TO JOIN QANTAS' CITYFLYER NETWORK: Qantas is extending its Cityflyer service to Adelaide from 18 November, with Perth following in January. The new-style service will link the South Australian city with Sydney 15 times each weekday and Melbourne 11. From Perth, there will be seven CityFlyer roundtrips a day to Sydney, and eight to Melbourne. City flyer services – currently linking Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane - feature dedicated departure gates, baggage carousels, check-in and customer service desks, stand-alone, easy-to-read information screens, complimentary newspapers on week day early morning flights and complimentary beer and wine in economy class on late afternoon and evening departures. Perth services will also offer complimentary movies and meals.

AER LINGUS CUTS BUSINESS FARES AND RESTRICTIONS: Aer Lingus has cut business fares in Europe by up to half yesterday and abolished many ticket restrictions. The Irish airline has also introduced a new range of fully flexible economy tickets, with no minimum stay requirement, offering itinerary and ticket changes without charge, at prices up to 60 per cent lower than those previously available. It now "common rates" all the London airports it serves, so passengers can use the same ticket on flights to or from any of these gateways. Cork and Shannon are also common rated with Dublin on direct services, providing similar levels of flexibility.

LANCHILE PREPARES FOR INBOUND TOURISM BOOM: LanChile is experiencing a boom in foreign visitors heading to its home country. Reservations from overseas travellers to Chile for the early part of next year are up year-on-year by more than 50 per cent, with Iquique, Puerto Montt, Coyhaique and Punta Arenas among the most popular of destinations for those from the USA and Europe. Pedro Pablo Errasuriz, General Manager of the group's LanExpress Chilean domestic operations, said: "Travellers from other countries are being drawn by the natural attractions of our country, our first-rate tourist facilities and the stability that Chile enjoys. We look forward to welcoming them."

FLYING KANGAROO HOPS MUCH MORE OFTEN TO NEW ZEALAND: Qantas has increased frequencies between Sydney and New Zealand by around 50 per cent. It now offers a total of 110 return flights a week across the Tasman Sea.

IBERIA OFFERS DISCOUNT FOR BOOKING DOMESTIC E-TICKETS ON-LINE: Iberia is offering discounts of up to Euro 8 to customers who book electronic tickets for Spanish domestic flights through the airline's website.

AA SELF-SERVICE CHECK-IN MACHINES NOW OFFER MORE OPTIONS: American Airlines has added more options for travellers using its self-service check-in machines, "responding to overwhelmingly positive customer acceptance" of the kiosks, which are now available at 50 airports across the USA. Passengers can use them to stand by for an earlier or later flight to the same destination on the same date of travel when their ticket permits – or upgrade to the next cabin using AAdvantage electronic upgrades.

AER LINGUS AND IBERIA ADD NEW DESTINATIONS: Aer Lingus added three new destinations to its network and Iberia two with the start of the new flying season in late October. The Irish carrier launched services from its Dublin hub to Geneva, Prague and Vienna, and added a connection between Cork and Malaga. At the same time, Pisa/Florence and Luxembourg joined Iberia's network, through its regional affiliate Air Nostrum.

LANPERU LAUNCHES WEBSITE IN ENGLISH: oneworld affiliate LanPeru, a LanChile subsidiary, has launched an English language version of its website, featuring a booking facility and full details on the airline's schedules together with a destination guide, news updates and special promotional offers.

IBERIA'S AIR NOSTRUM IS EUROPEAN REGIONS AIRLINE OF THE YEAR: oneworld affiliate Air Nostrum, Iberia's regional carrier, was named the European Regions Airline Association's Airline of the Year at the group's general assembly in Salzburg - the second time the carrier has taken the award in three years.

SWISS CODE-SHARE DEAL IS FINNAIR'S FIRST WITH RAIL OPERATOR: Finnair is to start code-sharing with the Swiss railway company SBB from 18 November, in the airline's first such agreement with a rail company. Its flight prefix will be added to the train company's rail connections linking Zurich with Basel ( three-letter code ZDH), Berne (ZDJ), Lausanne (QLS) and Lucerne (QLJ), providing excellent transfers to and from Finnair's two daily Helsinki-Zürich services. On departure from Helsinki passengers and their baggage luggage can be checked through to the destination railway station and vice versa. Members of the Finnair Plus frequent flyer scheme will also be able to earn points on the code-share rail journeys.

PRESS RELEASES ADDED IN SPANISH AND FRENCH: Spanish and French translations of oneworld press releases are now being posted on the alliance's media website, besides the established English. See www.oneworld.com/pressroom/releases/releases.cfm

oneworld IN BRIEF: oneworld brings together some of the best known, highest quality names in the airline business – American Airlines, British Airways, Qantas, Iberia, Cathay Pacific, LanChile, Finnair and Aer Lingus. 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. oneworld enables its members to offer their customers more services and benefits than any airline can provide on its own – a broader route network, more opportunities to earn and redeem frequent flyer miles and points, more airport lounges and alliance fares. Together, its members serve more countries than any other alliance – 134 territories and more than 550 destinations. oneworld offers more alliance fare products, serving more markets, than all its competitors together. Its members' 1,900 aircraft operate nearly 8,700 flights a day