American, British and Iberia Promise Better Deals on Trans-Atlantic Flights

A new airline alliance announced better deals on flights between the US and Europe.

Reportedly, more access to cheaper fares, bigger choice of flight times and easier connecting journeys shall become reality for transatlantic fliers with the launch of the new joint business between American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia.

According to media reports, the CEOs of the three oneworld® airlines met in London for the official start of the new trilateral relationship, which enables oneworld to compete far more effectively with other global alliances on routes between Europe and North America.

The new routes: American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia announced four new routes that will start from next April as an early benefit of the new joint business. They 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 participating airlines have also placed code shares on a significant number of additional routes, greatly increasing the number of destination choices available to customers. 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 code shares in the future. In total, customers will be able to travel more easily on the airlines’ combined route network, which will serve more than 400 destinations in 105 countries with around 5,200 daily departures.

Additional customer benefits include:
- Greater access to a wider choice of fares
- Coordinated schedules on joint routes to provide customers with better flight choice and timings
- 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 the one the ticket was booked through
- Integrated online flight information on all three airlines’ websites
- Increased opportunity to earn and redeem frequent flyer benefits on transatlantic flights
- More integrated account management for corporate customers

Gerard Arpey, chairman and chief executive of AMR Corp, the parent company of American Airlines, emphasized: “We’ve been waiting for 14 years to be able to bring these benefits to our customers and it’s great news that we can now put our plans into action. Our revenue-sharing partnership will further boost one world, 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”.

British Airways, Iberia and American Airlines Sign Agreement

The long-awaited alliance between British Airways, Iberia and America Airlines is finally nearing. The carriers have signed the final agreement to start the venture, according to the British party on Wednesday, and they could start sharing revenue as soon as next week, though a specific date hasn’t been announced.

Under the terms of the deal, a share of the revenue for a booked transatlantic flight will rebound to each of the airlines, despite the fact that only one of them will ultimately operate the service. This co-operation will include all transatlantic services operated by the group of carriers on routes between the US, Mexico and Canada. It will also apply to counties in the European Union, as well as Switzerland and Norway. With their transatlantic businesses combined, the carriers estimate yearly revenues to be worth £4.4 billion.

This deal will help put the Oneworld Alliance, for which the 3 airlines are all part of, on an equal footing with the SkyTeam and Star Alliance groups. Both of these have already been given approval to operate a transatlantic consortium by the US Department of Transport, and they have been doing so for years. These partnerships, however, have been operating without European regulatory approval, as the deals are still be examined.

Oneworld, on the other hand, was given clearance from the Department of Transport in February this year. They have since gained clearance from other European regulators, with Brussels being the final one in July. At the same time, British Airways and Iberia were given approval to created a merged company.

British Airways Launches Flight Services to Gothenburg

British Airways is launching flight services to Gothenburg, Sweden’s second largest city, with flights from as little as £55.50 in Euro Traveller one-way including taxes fees and charges. Customers can also book Club Europe, British Airway’s Business Class cabin.

The twice daily flight to Gothenburg from Heathrow Terminal 5, goes on sale July 20th, and is available from the start of the winter schedule on November 28th, 2010.

Richard Tams, British Airways’ head of UK and International sales, said: We are really excited about flying to this fabulous city on the south west coast of Sweden. It boasts Michelin star restaurants, culture and the best views of the famous Northern lights. The schedule is perfect for UK originating day round trips, and for connections onto the worldwide network.

British Airways offers a selection of hand picked 2 to 5-star hotels in Gothenburg, ideally suited to the urban tourist seeking sophistication. The 4-star First Hotel G is one choice for a stay in Gothenburg, located just above the central station in the heart of the city. Another choice is the 3* Apple hotel, offering easy to use public transport links and close to the famous Boulevard Avenue with plenty of bars, restaurants and shops.

As well as the soon to be launched flights to Gothenburg, British Airways also offers daily flights to Stockholm, known for striking architecture and its beautiful waterside setting. Spread across 14 islands, Stockholm has a range of hotels, including the 4-star Stureplan and the stylish 4-star Hellsten.

Avis car hire is available at both Gothenburg and Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport and can be purchased as a package including flights and car hire from ba.com.
Flights and city breaks to Gothenburg are on sale now.

British Airways and Kingfisher Airlines Announce Codeshare to Book Airline Tickets

Codeshare allows an airline to book air tickets for its customers on its partner carriers. The frequent flyers of one airline can earn mileage points while travelling on the other’s network

Premier airlines, British Airways and Kingfisher Airlines, are likely to announce a codeshare agreement next month which would facilitate seamless travel for passengers, who can also enjoy benefits while travelling on each other’s networks.

An official announcement to this effect is expected to be made during the visit of British Airways CEO Willie Walsh to India early September, sources close to the development told PTI.
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British Airways Passenger Traffic Declined 2.6 Percent Last Month

British Airways Plc said passenger traffic fell 2.6 percent last month as it raised ticket prices at the expense of volumes. Analysts said demand was probably also hurt by concern about disruption from acabin-crew strikes.

Economy-class travel fell 3.2 percent in July, outweighing a 0.8 percent increase in first- and business-class bookings, as British Airways cut discount deals in an effort to bolster fares or yields, Treasurer George Stinnes said. Traffic tumbled 14 percent on Asia-Pacific routes and 1.2 percent to the Americas.
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British Airways Airlines Departed on Schedule at Gatwick Airport

Official figures have shown that British Airways is the most punctual airline at Gatwick Airport.

The statistics revealed that 87 per cent of all the company’s short-haul and domestic services left Gatwick on time.

Of its international flights, 86 per cent also departed on schedule. These included cheap flights to the USA and Caribbean.

Alan Peever, British Airways general manager at Gatwick, said: “We recognise that time is important and that regular punctuality is a key factor when customers chose which airline to fly with. I would like to thank everyone for a real team effort.” (more…)

Airlines Companies (American Airlines, British Airways, Iberia) Joint Business Flight

American Airlines, British Airways, and Iberia have received final approval from the US Department of Transportation to create a joint business governing flights between North America and Europe.

Under the joint business agreement, the three airlines will co-operate commercially on flights between the US, Mexico and Canada, and the European Union (EU), Switzerland and Norway, while continuing to operate as separate legal entities. They will expand their codeshare arrangements on flights within and beyond the US and EU, increasing the number of destinations that the airlines can offer customers.
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British Airways Plans Long-Haul Flights During Cabin Crew Strike On May 18

British Airways Plc plans to operate more than 60 percent of long-haul flights from London’s Heathrow airport during a five-day cabin crew strike starting on May 18.

About 50 percent of short-haul services from Europe’s busiest airport will also operate, British Airways said today on its website, taking the total number of customers carried to 60,000 a day, or 70 percent of those who have booked tickets.

London-based British Airways aims to maintain services using a combination of its own planes and as many as eight leased aircraft. Europe’s third-biggest carrier is facing four walkouts totaling 20 days by its 12,000 cabin crew after Unite union members rejected the latest offer on pay and staffing.
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United Airlines and Continental Airlines to Agree to Create World Biggest Airlines

United Airlines and Continental Airlines agreed Sunday to a $3 billion merger that would create the world’s biggest airline, according to people briefed on the negotiations.

United’s purchase of Continental, to be announced officially on Monday, would form a coast-to-coast behemoth with a leading presence in the top domestic markets, including New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, along with an extended network to Asia, Latin America and Europe. The deal was completed in a remarkably swift two weeks, and would give the airlines the muscle to fend off low-cost rivals at home and to take on foreign carriers abroad.

The combined company would keep the United name and be based in Chicago. Jeffery A. Smisek, Continental’s chief executive, would run the company. If the deal wins antitrust approval, the merged airline would replace Delta Air Lines as the top carrier.
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British Airways Cancels Short-haul Flights Into and Out Britain on Sunday

British Airways said on Saturday it had cancelled all its short-haul flights into and out of Britain on Sunday.

A spokeswoman for the airline said the cancellation covered all flights to and from European destinations as well as domestic services. A decision on long-haul flights would be made later.

Aviation authorities have closed British airspace until at least 2400 GMT on Saturday because of the danger posed by clouds of volcanic ash from Iceland.

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