World's leading international airline alliance offers businesses in Germany up to 40 per cent off air fares worldwide

30 juin 2003

Companies throughout Germany can from today cut the cost of their business flights worldwide by up to 40 per cent thanks to the latest sales offering from oneworld™ the world's leading international airline alliance.

oneworld brings together eight of the biggest and best names in the airline industry – American Airlines, British Airways, Qantas, Iberia, Cathay Pacific, LanChile, Finnair and Aer Lingus. Between them, they offer more than 8 500 flights a day to a total of 136 territories – more countries than any other airline grouping serves – with a combined fleet of 2 000 aircraft.

Named the world's best airline alliance in the first award to recognize this sector of the industry (Business Traveller magazine September 2002), oneworld already markets more alliance fares than all its rival airline groupings combined.

Now it is building on this lead with the launch of its new businessflyer product, available from today in Germany with other countries following later, offering medium and small sized customers fares discounted by up to 40 per cent off the regular published rates in return for a more regular relationship with the alliance and its airlines.

Through just one point of contact, customers can select flights by the alliance's eight carriers from Berlin, Bremen, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich or Stuttgart, with connections in many cases from various other airports and railway stations across Germany, to more than 200 of the most popular destinations worldwide for German businesses.

Tickets, charged at up to 40 per cent below regular published levels, are eligible for mileage rewards and points in any of the oneworld airlines' frequent flyer programmes.

oneworld Vice-President Sales Maunu von Lueders said: "From today, German business has a real choice for its worldwide travel needs. By working together in this market, our eight member airlines can offer a highly attractive alternative to the national carrier for travel right around the globe – flights on some of the highest quality airlines in the world, across one of the best global networks, with great flexibility and substantial savings on prices."

oneworld is supporting the launch of businessflyer with a massive direct mail campaign, posting details to more than 15 000 medium to small German businesses and organizations.

To participate in the programme, customers simply register at www.oneworld.com/germany. The website, in German and English, gives full details on how to make reservations, which routes are available from each German gateway, and the special fare levels applicable under the scheme.

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