American Airlines and British Airways request codeshare approval

American Airlines and British Airways today filed an application with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) seeking regulatory approval to offer certain codeshare services permitted under the current provisions of the U.S.-U.K. Air Services Agreement.

If approved, this would be the first time the two carriers have placed their codes on each other's flights since the inception of their long-standing alliance. The two airlines already enjoy a successful partnership as founding members of the oneworld alliance, the most international of the global airline alliances. The codeshare relationship will provide additional benefits to trans-Atlantic travelers by offering more convenient connections to a wider range of destinations.

American intends to place its code on British Airways’ services beyond American’s U.K. gateways to key destinations in the United Kingdom and Ireland, Continental Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. American also would place its code on British Airways’ trans-Atlantic service between New York (JFK) and Manchester.

British Airways would place its code on American's flights beyond British Airways’ U.S. gateway cities to points in the United States and to Mexico, the Caribbean and Latin America. British Airways would also place its code on American’s flights between Chicago (ORD) and Glasgow and Manchester. The application submitted by the two carriers does not include codesharing on each other’s trans-Atlantic services to London.

In a joint statement, Henry Joyner, American's Senior Vice President of Planning, and Roger Maynard, British Airways' Director - Investments and Alliances, said: "This codeshare relationship will enhance the experience of transatlantic travelers and increase competition. We have seen time and again that codesharing results in more convenient schedules and reduced connection times to a greater number of exciting destinations for American, British Airways, and oneworld customers. American, British Airways and oneworld face competition from several global airline alliances, all of which already enjoy regulatory approval for codeshare cooperation, and all of which already enjoy antitrust immunity among their core trans-Atlantic partners. Approval of this application will help to level the competitive playing field."

American and British Airways previously sought antitrust immunity for an extensive cooperative alliance predicated on an open skies agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom. Recent developments make open skies with the United Kingdom in the near term unlikely and have prompted the carriers, in the interim, to deepen their relationship by seeking approval for more limited codesharing as explicitly authorized by the existing air services agreement.

American has been voted Best North American Airline for the 10th consecutive year by some of the world’s most frequent fliers at the 2002 Business Traveller Awards in London. American and British Airways' global alliance, oneworld, was named the world's Best Airline Alliance.

American Airlines, the world’s largest carrier, together with its regional affiliates American Eagle and the American Connection carriers, serves more than 250 cities in more than 40 countries and territories with more than 4,400 daily flights.