American Airlines gained final approval from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s for a joint venture with Qantas, the Australian carrier.
American and Qantas now have the opportunity to jointly offer more products that will serve customers flying between the United States and Australia and New Zealand, a release stated.
The two carriers are already part of the OneWorld Alliance and offer code sharing and joint ticketing for flights from American’s hub in Philadelphia and other U.S. cities to Qantas flights to Australia that depart from U.S. airports.
The arrangement had been opposed by the Transportation Department during the Obama Administration. It was claimed the joint venture would limit competition.
“We look forward to working closely with our valued partner, Qantas, on this new joint business,” said American’s Chairman and CEO Doug Parker. “We now have the opportunity to launch new routes and provide enhanced service with better schedules, additional frequent flyer benefits and continued investments in the overall customer experience. We are grateful to Secretary Chao and the DOT team, as we welcome this fantastic news for our customers and team members.”
Final approval follows the DOT’s tentative approval of the joint business in June.
