PRNewswire SYDNEY, Australia Nov. 13 :

American Airlines, a founding member of the oneworld Alliance, is
launching interline electronic ticketing with its alliance partners Qantas
and Cathay Pacific Airways, keeping the world`s most international airline
grouping on track to have the practice in place between all of its
carriers by the end of 2004.

Interline e-ticketing has just begun between American and Qantas, with
American and Cathay Pacific linking up within a few weeks. For both the
Australian and Hong Kong-based airlines, it is their first such
connections with any other carrier.

oneworld remains the only one of the global airline groupings to commit to
interline e-ticketing throughout all of its partners. American set the
ball rolling in May last year with oneworld partner Finnair, becoming the
world`s first airlines based on separate continents to introduce interline
e-ticketing. American extended the practice in July to fellow oneworld
member LanChile.

It will be extended on a phased basis among all oneworld airlines—
including British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus and member-elect Swiss
International Air Lines—by the end of 2004.

More than 90 percent of American Airlines passengers now use e-tickets,
with American offering interline e-ticketing with more U.S. domestic
airlines than any other carrier. With the addition of Qantas and Cathay
Pacific, American will have interline e-ticketing with four of its seven
oneworld partners.

Interline e-ticketing eliminates the need for customers to have paper
tickets for travel, thus enabling faster, easier transfers between
carriers. Its use is increasing rapidly across the airline industry, with
consumers preferring them. Among their benefits to travelers:

—Electronic tickets cannot be lost or stolen.—Check-in is quicker and
smoother.—They help eliminate lines at airports by giving customers
access to the speed and convenience of new automation features, such as
self- service check-in devices and online check-in via the Internet.—
Changes and refunds can be made faster and easier than with paper tickets.

Interline e-ticketing enables customers with electronic tickets traveling
on a journey involving a transfer between two airlines to be checked
through to their final destination, without the need for traditional paper
tickets, eliminating lines and making connections smoother and more
reliable.
It also makes rebooking a flight from one airline to another more simple
—for instance, if the need arises due to weather or other delays—with
no need to obtain a paper ticket first and then have that paper ticket
endorsed by a sales agent.

Besides offering considerable benefits for passengers, e-tickets and
interline e-ticketing also provide substantial savings for the airlines.
American Airlines Senior Vice President-Planning Henry Joyner said:
“Expanding interline e-ticketing is fundamental to both American Airlines
and oneworld`s overall focus on providing customers with what they value
—innovations that make travel simpler and hassle-free. Interline
e-ticketing now means travelers will find connecting between American
flights and those of Cathay Pacific and Qantas easier than ever. We
continue to work closely with all of our oneworld partners to make our
alliance the first to offer interline e-ticketing throughout our grouping.”
Cathay Pacific`s Director of Corporate Development Tony Tyler said: “This
is another example of how oneworld partners are improving their service to
customers by working closely together. Our new interline e-ticketing
service marks an important expansion of Cathay Pacific`s co-operation with
American Airlines, offering additional convenience to customers of both
airlines as they easily check right through to their final destinations
when connecting between the two airlines.”
Qantas Group General Manager of Sales Rob Gurney said: “Extending our
e-ticket capability to include American Airlines provides real benefits
for our customers. Interline e-ticket also complements our relocation to
Terminal 4 at Los Angeles airport, both initiatives make transferring to
American Airlines even easier.”

Between them, oneworld`s existing eight member airlines plus member-elect
Swiss International serve more countries than any global airline alliance,
with flights to more than 570 destinations in 136 countries. Members of
any oneworld airline`s frequent flyer program can earn awards and points
on eligible fares and redeem them throughout this network. The eight
airlines and their affiliates carried more than 220 million passengers
last year on a combined fleet of nearly 2,000 aircraft, earning revenues
of some US$50 billion. In the past three years, oneworld has delivered
more than US$2 billion in value to its members, through increased revenue
and cost savings. It was last month named the World`s Leading Airline
Alliance in the World Travel Awards, based on votes cast by 80,000 travel
agency professionals from more than 200 countries.
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