Oneworld partners Finnair and American Airlines have been awarded antitrust immunity by Washington, and expect Brussels to follow suit shortly. Neither carrier will have to give up any slots to competitors as part of the deal.
The two carriers already have a widespread codesharing arrangement, but are now looking to co-operate on pricing and sales. "The first priority is to introduce some common, attractive pricing," says Kari Koli, Finnair's vice-president for airline alliances.
The two partners only have around a one-third share of the US-Finland market, as they face heavy competition from airline groupings which have already been awarded antitrust immunity, namely Lufthansa-United Airlines; Air France and Delta Air Lines; and KLM-Northwest Airlines. "Our share is much smaller than most people suspect," he says.
The US Department of Transportation states in its ruling that the decision encourages more competitive services. Finland and the US signed an open skies deal back in 1995, although there is some uncertainty about these agreements ahead of a ruling by the European Court of Justice, which is likely to pass the mandate for negotiating these deals to Brussels.
Finnair, which will operate all the direct services between the two countries, says it does not plan to increase capacity on US-Finland routes for at least a year. Finnair and American have pioneered an interline e-ticket system, although Koli says that it will be several years before it is available in all destinations operated by the carriers. This is because some airports outside the US and Scandinavia where handling is carried out by third parties are not yet able to use the system.
As its seeks a greater share of the US-Finland market, in an expansion of its strongly growing Asian network, Finnair is adding a fifth Boeing MD-11 to its long-haul fleet. The 287-seat trijet, which will join the carrier in the first half of 2003, is the last ever built. It is being leased initially for six years from Boeing Capital Corporation.
Source: Airline Business
