Oneworld partners – American Airlines, Iberia, Finnair, Malev of Hungary and Royal Jordanian Airlines – have applied to the US authorities for antitrust immunity.
If approved, the airlines will be allowed to work more closely together in the transatlantic market through codesharing, co-operating with frequent flyer programmes, joint route and schedule planning, pricing and yield management and revenue allocation.
The application notably excludes partner British Airways because previous attempts by American and BA to get permission for similar moves have been unsuccessful.
The airlines believe the new application will have more chance because of the Open Skies agreement reached earlier this year.
Rival alliance, SkyTeam, have already put in a similar request for a closer transatlantic partnership between Air France-KLM, Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines.
By Bev Fearis
