Finnair welcomes TAM Airlines and US Airways to oneworld
TAM Airlines and US Airways today completed their transition to oneworld, marking the biggest single-day expansion of the world’s leading quality airline alliance since its launch 15 years ago.
From today, the 140 million members of the established oneworld airlines’ frequent flyer programs can earn and redeem awards and tier status points and receive all other oneworld benefits when flying on TAM and US Airways. To celebrate the additions to oneworld, Finnair Plus members will receive double the normal mileage awards when flying on TAM during May, and double the regular mileage awards when flying on US Airways between April 1 and June 30.
TAM and US Airways significantly expand the alliance on many key measures:
• Increasing the number of passengers carried annually across the alliance network by a third, adding another 120 million customers a year
• Expanding the annual capacity offered by the alliance by 20 per cent
• Adding almost a hundred destinations to the oneworld network – nearly a 10 per cent increase
“We at Finnair are very excited to welcome this extremely significant expansion of the oneworld family in the Americas,” says Finnair CEO Pekka Vauramo. “Finnair passengers can increasingly feel at home with fellow oneworld carriers on every continent, and Finnair Plus membership now has more utility than ever, as customers are able to earn points and redeem them for services and flights all over North and South America.”
oneworld becomes the top alliance in the Americas
As the leading airline in Brazil, TAM Airlines makes oneworld the leading alliance in Latin America’s largest economy and the world’s third largest market for domestic air travel. Using the two-letter code JJ, TAM serves 61 destinations in 16 countries in Latin America, the USA and Europe, with a fleet of 172 aircraft operating 800 departures daily. It boarded 37 million passengers in 2013. It has added nearly 45 destinations in Brazil to the oneworld network, and its home base São Paulo, the biggest city in the Southern Hemisphere and in the Americas, becomes a new hub for oneworld.
LAN Airlines, TAM’s partner in LATAM Airlines Group, has been a full member of oneworld since 2000 with all the other LAN passenger airlines joining the alliance as affiliate members since – LAN Argentina, LAN Colombia, LAN Ecuador and LAN Peru. The addition of TAM consolidates oneworld’s position as the leading alliance for flights within Latin America and between the region and both the United States and Europe.
US Airways brings more than 50 destinations to the oneworld map along with its key hubs of Charlotte, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Washington DC’s Reagan National, expanding oneworld’s presence across the United States, particularly throughout the East Coast and across the North Atlantic. US Airways’ merger with American Airlines has created the world’s largest airline on most measures. With both American and US Airways on board, oneworld becomes the leading alliance in the United States, the world’s largest air travel market.
Until the full integration of American Airlines and US Airways – which will see the combined airline retaining the American Airlines name – US Airways and its regional carriers will operate as oneworld affiliate members, under the American umbrella. During the transition period as they work toward their full integration, American and US Airways will maintain their current loyalty programs, American’s AAdvantage and US Airways’ Dividend Miles.
With its regional affiliates, US Airways serves more than 200 destinations and 30 countries with a fleet of more than 620 aircraft. It carried 82.5 million passengers in 2013 and currently operates 3,200 departures a day. It uses the two-letter code US, but this will be changed to AA once the two airlines combine under a single operating certificate.
The alliance’s welcome to TAM and US Airways today, to be followed on May 1 by SriLankan Airlines, completes what has been oneworld’s biggest expansion program to date, with the addition in the past two years also of airberlin, Malaysia Airlines and Qatar Airways.
With these recruits, oneworld:
• Serves almost a thousand airports in 150 countries, with 14,250 daily departures.
• Carries more than 500 million passengers a year on a combined fleet of some 3,300 aircraft.
• Generates US$ 140 billion annual revenues.
• Offers more than 600 airport lounges, including many frequently rated the world’s best.
oneworld’s other members include airbelin, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Iberia, Japan Airlines, LAN, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Royal Jordanian, S7 Airlines and more than 20 affiliates.
Further information:
oneworld: Michael Blunt, VP Corporate Communications: +44 7711 997487, michael.blunt@oneworld.com
TAM: Guilherme Testa, Media Relations TAM: +55 11 5582 8795, guilherme.testa@tam.com.br
American Airlines / US Airways Corporate Communications: +1 817 967 1577, mediarelations@aa.com
Finnair Media Desk, 358 9 818 4020, comms(a)finnair.com
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About Finnair
Finnair is specialised in fast connections between Europe and Asia via Helsinki. The airline carries more than eight million passengers annually and connects 13 cities in Asia with more than 60 destinations in Europe. The airline, a pioneer in sustainable flying, operates a young, modern fleet and is the first airline listed in the Leadership Index of the worldwide Carbon Disclosure Project. The only Nordic carrier with a 4-star Skytrax ranking, Finnair has also won the World Airline Award for Best Airline Northern Europe for the past four years running. Finnair is a member of oneworld, the alliance of the world's leading airlines committed to providing the highest level of service and convenience to frequent international travellers.