American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia Expand Joint Business Codeshare Cooperation

FORT WORTH, Texas, Dec. 17, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia, members of the oneworld® alliance, today announced new customer benefits as a result of their trans-Atlantic joint business. All three carriers are expanding the number of routes on which the airlines will codeshare between North America and Europe.

These new codeshare flights offer passengers in the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, Mexico and many other European countries easier access to more choices and better connections to flights across the Atlantic. The first sales date of the expanded codeshare cooperation is Dec. 20, with most travel beginning on Dec. 28.

With today's announcement, American will add its (AA*) code to an additional 57 British Airways flights to 16 markets and 4 Iberia flights to 2 markets. British Airways will add its (BA*) code to 42 additional American Airlines flights to 18 markets and 56 Iberia flights to 8 markets. Iberia will add its (IB*) code to 72 American flights in 23 markets and 86 British Airways flights to 24 markets.  In total, it adds up to 317 new codeshare routes.

As a result of the joint business, British Airways code will be published on over 2,800 American and Iberia flights serving more than 336 destinations. American Airlines code will be displayed on over 800 British Airways and Iberia flights to 174 destinations, and Iberia will publish its code on more than 350 British Airways and American Airlines flights to 80 destinations. All together, the joint business will serve more than 400 destinations in over 100 countries with approximately 5,200 daily departures.

Members of the three airlines' frequent flyer programs – Iberia's Plus, American Airlines AAdvantage® program, and British Airways Executive Club – can earn points or miles on the new codeshare flights, providing customers with the benefits of the enhanced relationship.

"Today's announcement continues to demonstrate how our stronger relationship with our oneworld partners delivers value to our customers," said Virasb Vahidi, American's Chief Commercial Officer. "Expanded codesharing makes it easier and more convenient for our respective customers to travel on the global networks of all three airlines and delivers on our promise of more choices, easier connections and a better overall travel experience."

Andrew Crawley, British Airways commercial director, said: "When we launched the joint business in October, we said that we would be rolling out more benefits to customers and this introduction of more codeshare flights across our three airlines is exactly that. The feedback we're getting from customers is very positive already and we will continue to align our policies in order to bring them even more benefits."

Manuel Lopez Aguilar, Iberia general director, Commercial and Clients, said: "The expanded codesharing that will be in place before the end of the year is another benefit for our customers; this has to be added to the new routes that we will be launching from next spring, which in the case of Iberia are Madrid-Los Angeles and Barcelona-Miami. We could not operate these new routes without the joint business."

Additional customer benefits of the trans-Atlantic joint business routes include:

• Coordinated schedules on joint business routes providing customers with more flight choices and more convenient times
• Dedicated support teams for customers transferring at five of the airlines' hubs: New York JFK, London Heathrow, Madrid, Chicago and Miami
• Online check-in and boarding pass printing with either the airline operating the flight, or on the website of the airline used to book the travel
• Integrated online flight information on all three airlines' websites

American, British Airways and Iberia previously announced five new routes beginning Spring 2011 as a benefit of the new joint business. They are: New York JFK-Budapest and Chicago-Helsinki (operated by American Airlines), London Heathrow-San Diego (operated by British Airways), plus Barcelona-Miami and Madrid-Los Angeles (operated by Iberia). Moreover, American will add frequencies from New York JFK to Barcelona and Miami to Madrid for already-existing services. These new frequencies also begin in Spring 2011.

Expanded codesharing markets:

About American Airlines

American Airlines, American Eagle and AmericanConnection® serve 250 cities in 40 countries with, on average, more than 3,400 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 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 nearly 700 destinations in more than 130 countries and territories. American Airlines, Inc. and American Eagle Airlines, Inc. are subsidiaries of AMR Corporation. AmericanAirlines, American Eagle, AmericanConnection, AA.com, We know why you fly and AAdvantage are trademarks of American Airlines, Inc. (NYSE: AMR)

About British Airways

British Airways is one of the world's largest international airlines, operating one of the most extensive international scheduled airline route networks and, together with its codeshare and franchise partners, it flies to more than 300 destinations worldwide. Also, one of the world's longest established airlines, it has always been regarded as an industry-leader. BA flies its customers at convenient times to the best located airports across the world.

British Airways is one of the world's leading global premium airlines and its principal place of business is London with significant presence at Heathrow, Gatwick and London City. BA also operates a worldwide air cargo business, largely in conjunction with its scheduled passenger services. The airline operates the majority of its domestic UK, international and intercontinental flights from its home at Terminal 5, Heathrow. Whether customers are in the air or on the ground, British Airways takes pride in providing a full service experience.

About Iberia

Today, Iberia is the leading airline in Spain, the routes that connect Spain and Europe, and also market leader on flights between Europe and Latin America. Together with its franchise partner Iberia Regional, both airlines operate more than 1,000 flights every day to about 100 destinations. Iberia is a member of the oneworld, an alliance offering 9,000 daily flights to 800 destinations in 150 countries.   For further information about the Iberia Group: http://grupo.iberia.com/portal/site/grupoiberia/

SOURCE American Airlines

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