LanChile welcomed as newest member of oneworld

1999年5月20日

American Airlines, British Airways, Canadian Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways and Qantas today welcomed LanChile as the newest recruit to oneworld™.

The Chilean carrier will be the eighth member of the global airline alliance and the third carrier to join since oneworld was announced last September. Finnair and Iberia were also recently elected on board and plan to start offering oneworld services and benefits later this year.

LanChile expects to join them in 2000, after its customer service employees have taken part in the oneworld training and communications programme, and after its computer systems have been linked with those of the other oneworld carriers.

Speaking on behalf of the oneworld members, Don Carty, American Airlines' Chairman and Chief Executive, said: "This is a great day for oneworld, and for our customers all around the world, as we welcome another great airline into the alliance. LanChile is well known and respected for its quality and its customer focus. Its routes will broaden the oneworld network, which will make global travel much more convenient for our customers."

Enrique Cueto, LanChile's Chief Executive, said: "We are delighted to join oneworld. This is a very important occasion for LanChile, as we take our place beside some of the best airlines in the world.

"We look forward to this opportunity to expand the service we offer our customers. We also look forward to welcoming on board new customers from around the world and demonstrating to them our dedication to providing world class service to and from Latin America."

LanChile - or Linea Aerea Nacional de Chile to give it its full name - is a privately owned airline formed in 1929. It currently operates some 120 flights a day. It serves 17 points within Chile and operates an international network with service to 22 destinations in 15 countries. Its fleet of 46 aircraft comprises narrow-bodied and wide-bodied aircraft types ranging in size from the 119-seat Boeing 737-200 to the 218-seat Boeing 767-300.

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