US Airways Joins Transatlantic Joint Venture
US Airways has joined the transatlantic joint venture that includes American Airlines, British Airways, Iberia and Finnair.
The joint venture — which was established by American, British Airways and Iberia in October 2010 — allows the airlines to co-operate commercially on transatlantic flights. The joint venture also includes a revenue sharing agreement in which member airlines have permission to co-ordinate schedules and pricing on North Atlantic routes.
The arrival of US Airways in the venture, sees 28 transatlantic routes being added to the joint business. The non-stop service from the United States to 18 European destinations, including Munich, Athens and Amsterdam. Philadelphia and Charlotte, N.C., will become oneworld’s largest East Coast gateways to Europe providing customers access to more than 100 destinations throughout North America with one-stop connections from these two airports.
With combined operations, the joint business will serve 29 destinations in North America and 25 destinations in Europe, operating nearly 100 routes between the two regions.
Enhanced benefits for customers of the five airlines include:
- Coordinated schedules on joint business routes, providing customers with better flight choices and more convenient schedules.
- Dedicated support teams for customers connecting at nine of the airlines’ hubs: Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, London Heathrow, Los Angeles, Madrid, Miami, New York’s JFK and Philadelphia.
- Online check-in and boarding pass printing with either the airline operating the flight, or the website of the airline used to book travel.
- Lounge access and priority baggage privileges for loyalty program members.
- Increased opportunities to earn and redeem frequent flyer benefits on transatlantic flights.
- More attractive corporate sales programs.
US Airways will join the joint business as an affiliate member until it fully integrates operations with American Airlines as part of their merger to create the largest airline in the world.
US Airways also plans to implement extensive codeshare agreements with the other carriers in the coming weeks, providing easy access to the joint business’ combined global network.
Doug Parker, chief executive officer of American Airlines, said, “Bringing US Airways into the joint business network is an important step for us as we continue to advance our collaboration with alliance partners to increase growth, market share and competition.”
And Parker continued, “Joining our entire merged company into this agreement creates a stronger and more competitive joint business, and will provide faster and easier connections for customers on hundreds of flights between North America and Europe.”
Willie Walsh, IAG chief executive, observed, “The inclusion of US Airways will not only expand the network of our transatlantic family, it will also broaden the appeal of our services to new and existing customers who will have even more flexibility, added convenience and improved rewards when travelling between Europe and North America.”
He noted as well, that, “This expanded partnership complements the recent inclusion of Finnair into the joint business between British Airways and Japan Airlines. It has never been a better time to plan your journey across the globe.”
