American Airlines Inc. saw its transoceanic alliances take two giant steps forward Wednesday, as it launched its North Atlantic partnership and received tentative approval for its Pacific joint venture.
First, American, British Airways PLC and Spanish carrier Iberia formally kicked off their trans-Atlantic alliance by touting all the benefits that travelers will see in the next year.
Then, several hours later, the U.S. Department of Transportation gave its blessing to American's alliance with Japan Airlines.
American used the occasion to announce that it was recalling 545 flight attendants and 250 pilots, and American chairman and chief executive Gerard Arpey tied the job callbacks to the alliances.
"A number of factors contributed to our ability to recall our valued employees, including capitalizing on our business opportunities with British Airways and Iberia and continuing to strengthen our cornerstone hubs," Arpey said at a London news conference. "This is exactly the kind of growth we're looking for, and my hope is that trends like this will continue."
The London ceremonies marked the beginning of the joint venture among American, British Airways and Iberia to coordinate schedules, sell to corporate travelers and share revenues on flights across the Atlantic. They are all members of the Oneworld airline alliance.
American and BA first proposed such an arrangement in 1996. They abandoned that effort and a subsequent one because regulators required more concessions than the airlines wanted to make.
In August 2008, with Iberia as a third partner, the carriers applied again for the antitrust immunity needed for their planned joint business. U.S. and European Union officials finally gave their OK in July.
"This thing was worth waiting for - 14 years in the making, but it was worth waiting for," American Airlines president Tom Horton said Wednesday.
Separately, American and another Oneworld member, Japan Airlines, are seeking antitrust immunity so they can cooperate on routes between the U.S. and Japan. In their tentative decision Wednesday, DOT officials approved the American-JAL request and one from Star Alliance members United Airlines Inc., Continental Airlines Inc. and All Nippon Airways.
"Based on our evaluation of the Star application and Oneworld application, we tentatively determine that, overall, each alliance will be pro-competitive," the DOT said.
A final decision is expected by the end of the year.
Shares of American parent AMR Corp. rose 10 cents Wednesday to $6.21.
The North Atlantic partners announced four new routes that they'll begin flying next year. American plans flights between New York and Budapest, hub of Oneworld member Malev Hungarian Airlines, and between Chicago and Helsinki, hub of Oneworld member Finnair.
Iberia will fly from its Madrid hub to Los Angeles, a key city for American. British Airways will launch flights between London Heathrow and San Diego.
"Now, connoisseurs of the BA route network may know that this is the third time that we have launched this particular route," British Airways CEO Willie Walsh told reporters. "I think this serves to highlight the benefits of the joint business. The route did not deliver a profitable return for BA in isolation, but we are extremely confident that, by working together with our colleagues, it will."
Walsh, Arpey and Iberia chairman and CEO Antonio Vazquez outlined how the three carriers will let members of the airlines' frequent-flier programs earn and use their miles on any of the three airlines.
They plan to coordinate schedules so that in major cities like Chicago and New York, flights among the airlines are spread out so that one carrier's flights won't leave or arrive on top of another's timing.
Among other benefits, they said the airlines will jointly operate customer service centers at major airports like Chicago, New York, Miami and Madrid to help passengers on all three carriers make connections or rebook them if they miss a connection.