Finnair, Japan Airlines and British Airways begin joint business on flights between Europe and Japan
(Warsaw 01.04.2014) Finnair and fellow oneworld alliance members Japan Airlines and British Airways will start their planned joint business between Europe and Japan on April 1, 2014.
The joint business means that the three airlines will share revenue and cooperate on scheduling and pricing between Japan and Europe, providing customers with more flexible routing options and an attractive range of fares.
Last October Japanese regulators gave approval to the airlines’ plans to include Finnair in the joint business established in 2012 by British Airways and Japan Airlines, and in February the three airlines began selling joint fares on select routes for travel after April 1.
The joint business opens up all three airlines’ networks between Japan and Europe and allows the airline partners to cooperate on expanding their presence in this growing and important market. The agreement also strengthens the oneworld alliance and enables it to compete more effectively around the world with other global alliances.
Customer benefits of the joint business will include:
- The ability to mix and match flights on all three carriers for the most convenient scheduling and best pricing
- Online booking capability and check-in with any of the three airlines, regardless of which is being flown
- Integrated customer support across the three airlines
- Greater connectivity on all three airlines in case of disruption
Currently, Finnair flies daily from Helsinki to Tokyo and daily in summer (five times per week in the winter) to Osaka and Nagoya, connecting Japan to more than 50 Finnair destinations in Europe. Japan Airlines also operates daily from Tokyo to Helsinki, Frankfurt, Paris and London, while British Airways operates daily flights as of April 9 from London to both Narita and Haneda airports in Tokyo.
“Since the authorities gave the green light for us to enter this joint business, we have worked very hard with our new partners to establish a well-functioning cooperation,” says Finnair CEO Pekka Vauramo. “Together, the three of us will constitute the single largest player in Europe-Japan traffic, offering an extremely competitive customer proposition in this vital market.”
For further information:
Finnair Media Desk: +358 9 818 4020, comms@finnair.com
JAL press office: +81(0)3 5460 3109, jian.yang@jal.com
British Airways press office: +44 (0)20 8738 5100, media.relations@ba.com
Finnair blogs: http://blogs.finnair.com
Finnair on Facebook: www.facebook.com/finnair
Finnair on Twitter: www.twitter.com/finnair
Finnair Group website: www.finnairgroup.com
Finnair Plus: www.finnair.com/plus
Photobank: http://gallery.finnair.com
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. A pioneer in sustainable flying, Finnair operates a young, modern fleet and has the highest score of any publically disclosing airline in 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 has been a member of the oneworld alliance since its founding in 1999.
