aword from oneworld: May 2007

Finnair links Nuremberg to network as oneworld's tenth German gateway: Nuremberg has joined the oneworld® network, as the tenth destination in Germany served by the alliance, with Finnair flying there daily from and to its Helsinki home, using Embraer regional jets. With the three-letter IATA code NUE, Nuremberg is at the centre of northern Bavaria, with some five million people live in its catchment area.

American to open two new Caribbean routes from New York: American Airlines, already the leading airline between New York and the Caribbean, is adding a further two new routes to the islands from JFK. It will serve St Kitts and Nevis from 18 November with two Boeing 757s a week, and St Lucia from November with an initial three Boeing 757s a week. Elsewhere, it connect Austin with John Wayne airport at Santa Ana, in California's Orange County from 5 September with daily Boeing MD80s westbound and 737-800s eastbound.

Iberia launches Madrid-Boston and heads for Washington and St Petersburg: Iberia has launched its new Madrid-Boston route, with an initial five Airbus A340s a week. It joins American Airlines and British Airways in serving the New England gateway. Next month, oneworld's Spanish partner adds Washington DC to its network too, while it Europe it will open services to St Petersburg from 2 June, with two Airbus A319s a week from and to its Madrid hub.

Royal Jordanian resumes Montreal route: Royal Jordanian, which joined oneworld on 1 April, resumes non-stops between its Amman home base and Montreal from 25 May, with twice-weekly two-class Airbus A340s, offering its Crown Class flat beds. The airline last served the Canadian city ten years ago.

BA gains fourth 'Airline of the Year' title: British Airways has gained its fourth Airline of the Year title, with the latest accolade from the OAG airline information group. BA was already the current holder of top airline title from the SkyTrax airline quality organization, the World Travel Awards and Global Traveler magazine. In the OAG awards, BA was also named Best Transatlantic Airline, Best Europe-Asia/Australasia and Best in Western Europe, while oneworld partners Cathay Pacific was judged Best Transpacific and Qantas was Best in Australasia/Pacific.

American to up-grade passenger cabins across its 757 fleet: American Airlines is to upgrade the passenger cabins of its entire fleet of 124 Boeing 757s. The improvements, to be made from next year, will include new seats, new cabin interiors and updated in-flight entertainment systems. First Class will be expanded by two more seats, giving a total of 24 on each aircraft. The airline has already announced plans for enhancements to its 777s, 767-300s and 767-200s.

JAL to triple size of lounges at its main Tokyo Narita international hub: Japan Airlines' expanded and refurbished lounges at its Tokyo Narita Terminal 2 main international hub will be opened in mid July, providing more spacious, comfortable environments and improved services. The airline says their new designs would provide "a high quality space for the ultimate in relaxation", with the size of the rooms tripled to offer seating for up to 700 people.

BA and Qantas open new First Class lounge at Bangkok: British Airways and Qantas have opened their new joint First Class lounge at Bangkok's new Suvarnabhumi airport. The two airlines opened in March their new Business Class lounge at the gateway. The new BA/QF First Class lounge is 40 per cent bigger than the facility it replaces at Bangkok's old Don Muang airport.

Malév moves New York JFK operations to American Airlines' terminal: Malév Hungarian Airlines has transferred its New York JFK operations into American Airlines' Terminal 9, smoothing connections between the two carriers at the hub. oneworld partner Finnair also uses the same terminal. The British Airways terminal is right next door, used by alliance members Cathay Pacific, Iberia and Qantas besides BA.

Madrid Metro now extended to oneworld operational base Terminal 4: Madrid's Metro has now been extended to the new Terminal 4 at the city's airport, where all oneworld member airlines are based. The facility is now served, like the other airport terminals, by trains on Line 8, running to and from the city centre Nuevos Ministerios station. Previously, passengers had to connect by bus between Terminal 4 and the Metro station at Terminal 2.

oneworld in brief: oneworld brings together some of the best and biggest names in the airline business - American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, LAN, Qantas and, since 1 April, Japan Airlines, Malév Hungarian Airlines and Royal Jordanian, plus some 20 affiliates.

The alliance enables its members to offer their customers more services and benefits than any airline can provide on its own. These include a broader route network, opportunities to earn and redeem frequent flyer miles and points across the combined oneworld network and more airport lounges. oneworld is the only alliance to enable passengers to fly throughout its network, on any combination of carriers, using just electronic tickets.

oneworld was voted the World's Leading Airline Alliance for the fourth year running in the 2006 World Travel Awards, based on votes cast by some 170 000 travel professionals, including more than 110 000 travel agents in 200 countries.