Iberia, American Airlines and British Airways initiate trans-Atlantic agreement

Iberia, American Airlines and British Airways CEOs met in London on 06-Oct-2010 for the official start of the new trilateral relationship between the oneworld carriers. The airlines announced today four new routes to be launched from Apr-2010 as an early benefit of the new joint business. These are: New York JFK-Budapest and Chicago-Helsinki (operated by American), London Heathrow-San Diego (operated by British Airways) and Madrid-Los Angeles (operated by Iberia). The airlines have also placed codeshares on a significant number of additional routes. American will add its code to 322 British Airways and Iberia flights serving 101 destinations, British Airways will add its code to 2063 American and Iberia flights serving 181 destinations and Iberia will add its code to 354 American and British Airways flights serving 96 destinations. There will be further opportunities to increase codeshares in the future. [more] [more - Routes launches]

American Airlines: "We've been waiting for 14 years... and its great news that we can now put our plans into action. Our revenue-sharing partnership will further boost oneworld, in what has been a momentous year for the alliance, and enable us to reduce costs and attract new business. It will provide additional stability for the airlines and our customers, employees and shareholders and allow us to invest in new products and services," Gerard Arpey, Chairman and CEO. Source: Company statement, 06-Oct-2010.

American Airlines: "It will be like a shuttle service between JFK and Heathrow. Nobody else, even the merged entities in the US, can come anywhere close to that," Tom Horton, President. Source: Bloomberg, 07-Oct-2010.