Originally Posted by
jb85
Hi
I have heard of talk of BA/AA getting rid of the ban on earning miles between the two for transatlantic flights to/from the US. I know this was in place before because of anti-trust issues, but with the new open skies, is there a plan to get rid of this? Anybody know a timeline on when/if this restriction might end?
Welcome to FT!
The London press is saying that BA, IB and AA are going to file for the same types of antitrust exemptions already granted to the majority of Star Alliance airlines now flying across the Atlantic. In the past the lack of slots at LHR was used as the justification for not granting that immunity. With Open Skies (not to mention mergers like KL/AF and DL/NW) LHR is open to more carriers, so the LHR rationale to deny OW the same exemptions is relatively moot.
However the wheels grind exceedingly slowly, so I would regard any potential changes in AA/BA mileage or redemption schemes as the greenest of bananas.