News

June 22, 1999 06:55

American Air enters Swiss, Belgian alliances

FORT WORTH, Texas, June 22 (Reuters) - American Airlines said on Tuesday it had formed a European marketing alliance with Swissair and Belgium's Sabena World Airlines. The deal came as Air France announced formation of an exclusive, 10-year alliance with Delta Air Lines Inc. The alliance should operate by the end of the year.

Airlines are looking for international alliances as a means to increase revenues without having to buy new aircraft.

American Airlines, Swissair and Sabena plan to begin code-sharing on selected transatlantic routes as soon as possible after obtaining all necessary governmental approvals, said American Airlines, a unit of AMR Corp.

Sabena is 49.5 percent owned by SAirGroup, the parent of Swissair.

Under the arrangement, American and Swissair will code-share on flights between Chicago and Zurich, and on Swissair flights between Zurich and both Boston and Miami.

American and Sabena will code-share on each other's flights between Chicago and Brussels, and on Sabena flights between Boston and Brussels.

The airlines plan to expand the arrangement later to include other transatlantic flights, as well as connecting flights beyond each other's gateway cities, American Airlines said. They also plan to extend the alliance to other members of the Qualiflyer Group, including Austrian Airlines.

SAirGroup said earlier Tuesday its Atlantic Excellence alliance with Sabena, Austrian Air and Delta would continue after the deal with American Airlines.

American Airlines travelers with AADVANTAGE frequent flier accounts will get miles credited from code-sharing flights. Members of Swissair's and Sabena's Qualiflyer frequent traveler programs will earn credits for codeshare flights on American Airlines.

Swissair and Sabena said that the companies are looking to save 150 million euros per year from closer cooperation in sales, marketing and network organization. The two European carriers plan to form Airline Management Co., a joint venture to manage those functions.

"This alliance with these two highly regarded, world class airlines will enable us to offer our customers more service options and greater travel flexibility, and strengthen our competitive position in Europe," said Don Carty, American's chairman and chief executive officer. "These new partners reflect American's continuing commitment to bring top-quality airlines into our alliance network."

Jeff Katz, Swissair's CEO, and Paul Reutlinger, Sabena's CEO, believe that the partnership with American Airlines offers excellent prospects for the future. "This alliance with one of the world's leading airlines will benefit our customers by giving them access to American's extensive network in the Western Hemisphere," Katz said.


Sources: Reuter, AA/AMR