Oneworld partners American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia will today file for anti-trust immunity from the US Department of Transportation for a joint agreement on flights between North America and Europe.
Under the joint business agreement, the three airlines plan on co-operating commercially on flights between the USA, Mexico and Canada, and the European Union, Switzerland and Norway while continuing to operate as separate legal entities.
They will expand their codeshare arrangements on flights within and beyond the EU and USA, significantly increasing the number of destination choices that the airlines can offer customers.
In addition, fellow Oneworld members Finnair and Royal Jordanian Airlines are included in the anti-trust immunity application.
Chairman and CEO of American Airlines parent AMR Gerard Arpey says: "We believe our proposed co-operation is an important step towards ensuring that we can compete effectively with rival alliances and manage through the challenges of record fuel prices and growing economic concerns."
It marks the third time American Airlines and BA have applied for anti-trust immunity, the carriers having previously baulked at regulators' demands for high numbers of slots to be surrendered at London Heathrow.
But BA chief executive Willie Walsh argues: "We are applying for EU-US anti-trust immunity in a changed regulatory world where London Heathrow is open to any US or EU airline that wants to fly to the USA and where rival alliances have immunity."
Iberia chairman and CEO Fernando Conte adds: "Customers will benefit the most from this relationship as they will have better connections to more destinations around the world. It will increase competition as the three global airline alliances will play under the same rules."
European partners British Airways and Iberia last month disclosed that they were holding talks on a possible merger.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
