Finnair to enter joint business with American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia

American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia celebrate a key milestone as fellow oneworld® alliance member Finnair announces its intent to join the transatlantic joint business, established by the three airlines in October 2010.

Once Finnair joins the transatlantic joint business later this year, customers in North America and Europe will have increased choice of flights and services as well as more convenient connections to flights across the Atlantic.
As part of the joint business, Finnair will add its (AY*) code to selected American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia flights between North America and Europe (EU, plus Norway and Switzerland). American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia will add their respective (AA*), (BA*) and (IB*) code to Finnair’s daily flights between New York and Helsinki.  All together, the joint business will operate up to 102 daily round trips between North America and Europe, serving 42 gateways on either side of the Atlantic. Customers will also have access to a further 163 onward connections in North America and 126 in Europe.
New horizons for customers on both sides of the Atlantic
Benefits for customers of the four airlines include:

• Coordinated schedules on joint business routes, providing customers with more flight choices and more convenient times
• Members of the four airlines' frequent flyer programs – Iberia Plus, American Airlines AAdvantage®, British Airways Executive Club and Finnair Plus – will be able to earn points or miles on the new codeshare flights
• Dedicated support teams for customers transferring at seven of the airlines' hubs: New York JFK, London Heathrow, Madrid, Chicago, Miami, Dallas and Los Angeles.
• Online check-in and boarding pass printing with either the airline operating the flight, or the website of the airline used to book travel
  

“Our participation in this venture will significantly increase the portfolio of available destinations to Finnair’s existing customers, as well as open up Northern Europe to a whole new network of potential travellers,” says Allister Paterson, Finnair’s Senior Vice President, Commercial. “Fare combinability between the four carriers also brings more ticket flexibility to customers, as the fares and conditions are identical between the airlines. A business traveler soon will be able to combine American, British Airways, Iberian and Finnair routes flexibly when flying between Europe and North America.”
“American Airlines is delighted to welcome Finnair to the transatlantic joint business and leverage its extensive network across Northern Europe,” says Kurt Stache, American Airlines’ Vice President, Strategic Alliances. “The existing joint business has already brought many opportunities to our customers in its first two years such as coordination across schedules and enhanced frequent flyer benefits on each carrier. American looks forward to even greater integration across the four airlines that Finnair’s arrival will bring to the expanded joint business.”
“British Airways looks forward to Finnair joining the transatlantic joint business this year,” says Simon Talling-Smith, Chair, Atlantic Joint Business Management Committee, “the addition of the Helsinki hub to our joint business network will bring faster and easier connections for customers on hundreds of city connections between Europe and North America. We are excited to be able to offer more choice and new benefits to all our customers.”
“We are happy to welcome Finnair into the North Atlantic Joint Business,” says José Bolorinos, Iberia’s Senior Vice President, Strategy. “Finnair has been a great partner of Iberia for many years. We started our code share cooperation with them in the year 2000. We are sure their contribution will significantly expand the reach of the oneworld North Atlantic JB in Northern Europe and offer more service options for our customer.”