American Airlines and Qantas Expand Codeshare Cooperation and Deepen Commercial Relationship

FORT WORTH, Texas and SYDNEY, March 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- American Airlines and Qantas, members of the oneworld® Alliance, today announced the next phase of their deepening commercial relationship, expanding the number of routes on which the airlines will codeshare between major cities across North America and Australia.

Qantas will codeshare on American Airlines flights to 28 new destinations from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), American's largest hub. American Airlines will begin codesharing on Qantas services between Sydney and Dallas/Fort Worth as well as domestic services from Brisbane to Adelaide, Canberra, Cairns, Melbourne and Perth.

The expansion comes ahead of the launch of direct Qantas services from Sydney to DFW, on May 16, and will give Qantas customers unparalleled access to a wide range of major cities across the United States, Canada and Mexico. New destinations include Chicago, Houston, Las Vegas, Miami, Nashville and New York (Newark) – as well as Calgary, Toronto and Vancouver.*

Members of both airlines' loyalty programs – the American Airlines AAdvantage® program and Qantas Frequent Flyer program – are able to accrue and redeem miles/points across the combined networks of both carriers.

As announced earlier this year, Qantas and American Airlines will shortly seek regulatory approval for closer collaboration from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and other relevant authorities.

Group Executive Qantas Airlines Commercial, Rob Gurney, said, "The new codeshares will help maximize the benefits of the new DFW service for passengers and underpin the enhancement of the Qantas-American Airlines relationship. This is an important step for Qantas as we prepare to begin flying to Dallas/Fort Worth and seek to deepen our relationship with American Airlines.

"With the addition of 28 new codeshare cities, Qantas' network out of DFW will total 54 destinations when we commence services in May, providing unprecedented choice and convenience for Australians visiting the USA.  Similarly, the Australian tourism industry will have the opportunity to tap into a huge market of potential US visitors.

"Expanding our codeshare arrangement with American Airlines allows us to capitalize fully on DFW's position as a major hub airport for business and leisure travel. As well as most major US cities, Qantas customers will be able to travel through DFW to Canada and Mexico, including such destinations as Toronto, Vancouver, Cancun and Mexico City.

"We have worked closely with American Airlines over many years, and with the commencement of services to Dallas/Fort Worth we look forward to taking our partnership to a new level," said Gurney.

Virasb Vahidi, American's Chief Commercial Officer, said, "Our expanded codeshare relationship with Qantas makes it easier and more convenient for our customers to travel on the global networks of both airlines. We are pleased to give our respective customers unprecedented access to destinations across North America and Australia. We are focused on delivering more choices, easier connections and a better overall travel experience, and this expanded relationship with our valued partner, Qantas, is a great example of those efforts."

Vahidi added, "Our strengthened relationship will further enhance our position in the growing trans-Pacific market, as well as in the respective home markets of each carrier, and make oneworld a stronger global alliance. We look forward to more opportunities to deepen our relationship with Qantas in the future."

The new codeshare destinations will be progressively made available for sale over the next month. A full list of Qantas codeshare destinations beyond DFW is listed below.

About American Airlines

American Airlines, American Eagle and AmericanConnection® serve 250 cities in 50 countries with, on average, more than 3,600 daily flights. The combined network fleet numbers more than 900 aircraft. American's award-winning website, AA.com®, provides users with easy access to check and book fares, plus personalized news, information and travel offers. American Airlines fares are also available through Kayak.com and Priceline.com, as well as thousands of travel agencies worldwide. American Airlines is a founding member of the oneworld® Alliance, which brings together some of the best and biggest names in the airline business, enabling them to offer their customers more services and benefits than any airline can provide on its own. Together, its members serve approximately 900 destinations with more than 9,000 daily flights to 145 countries and territories. American Airlines, Inc. and American Eagle Airlines, Inc. are subsidiaries of AMR Corporation. AmericanAirlines, American Eagle, AmericanConnection, AA.com, and AAdvantage are trademarks of American Airlines, Inc. (NYSE: AMR).

About the AAdvantage® Program

The AAdvantage program was the first frequent flyer program. Established in 1981, the program now has more than 66 million members. Members can earn miles at more than 1,000 participating companies, which include 27 hotel chains representing more than 60 brands, more than 20 airlines, eight car-rental companies, 11 financial companies, and over 500 brand name retailers. In addition, members can earn miles when making purchases with one of more than 100 affinity card products in over 40 countries. In 2010, AAdvantage members redeemed more than 165 billion miles to claim just fewer than 7.2 million awards for flights, upgrades and car rentals. For more information and a listing of AAdvantage program participating companies, visit www.aa.com/aadvantage.

About Qantas Airways

Qantas is the only airline offering A380 service from the U.S. on select non-stop flights from Los Angeles to Sydney and to Melbourne. The Qantas A380 features aircraft interiors designed by internationally renowned industrial designer and Qantas Creative Director Marc Newson. Providing over 40 flights per week from the U.S., Qantas offers more than 30 nonstop flights from Los Angeles (to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Auckland), five from San Francisco, a daily direct service from JFK and three from Honolulu. A leader in in-flight entertainment, all Qantas mainland departures feature on demand video and audio selections for movies, TV programs, radio and games in all classes.

Current AMR Corp. releases can be accessed on the Internet.

The address is http://www.aa.com

SOURCE American Airlines

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