oneworld launches biggest yet drive to increase market share from Italy - with three prizes of a million air miles on offer

oneworld®, the world's leading quality airline alliance, today launches its most concerted drive yet to win more market share in the Italian air travel market.

oneworld from today designates Italy for the first time as one of only six "key target markets" worldwide. This means the alliance and its member airlines will work more closely together in Italy, offering offer individual and corporate customers a greater range of services and benefits and investing more resources to support their collective efforts throughout the country.

As part of this drive, the alliance from today:

• Extends its highly successful businessflyer programme for small and medium sized corporate customers based in Italy, only the sixth country worldwide where this product is available. Thousands of small and medium-sized organizations have signed up for the product in the five countries where it is currently available, gaining substantial discounts on their business travel in return for a more regular relationship with oneworld member airlines. For more details, see separate press release.
• Activates a special website dedicated to its customers in Italy. At oneworld.com/italia (or oneworld.com/italy) you can find full details of all the alliance's fares, services and benefits - in a choice of either Italian or English. It includes distinct sections on the alliance's businessflyer programme and for travel agents, with quick links to an interactive map showing all the 700 destinations worldwide served by its member airlines and an interactive tool to help plan round-the-world trips.
• Enables business and leisure passengers to mix and match published fares of any of the alliance's member airlines for trips involving flights originating from Italy involving any combination of its carriers. oneworld is the only alliance to offer this degree of ticketing flexibility between all member airlines - and Italy is one of only three countries worldwide that the alliance is trialling these "combinable fares". It means passengers from Italy can fly in one direction on one oneworld airline and return on another alliance member - now using both airlines' most attractive published prices all the way. For more details, see separate press release.
• Introduces in Italy special versions of its round-the-world fares, offering even better value for money. These special oneworld Round-the-World Promo fares offer a selection of the alliance's most popular Economy Class round-the-world itineraries, at special attractive prices – saving up to 15 per cent on regular prices. Again, Italy is one of only three countries worldwide where the alliance is trialling these special offers. For more details, see separate press release.
• Launches its first nationwide advertising campaign in Italy, representing the alliance's biggest yet investment in communications in this country.

• Is offering three prizes of a million frequent flyer each to winners of contest open to anyone living in Italy - enough free travel for 80 Economy Class round-trips to Spain, 12 Business Class return flights to Chicago or five Business Class trips to Australia and back. See notes below.

  To have a chance of winning one of those million frequent flyer air miles prizes, all you need to do is fill in and submit the on-line entry form at www.oneworld.com/italia or www.oneworld.com/italy before 13 October. Participants must be aged more than 18, and living in Italy.

  oneworld comprises ten of the biggest and best names in the world airline industry, all international airline benchmarks for quality and value, and the prize flights can be used on any combination of them - American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Finnair, LAN Airlines, Malév Hungarian Airlines, Qantas and Royal Jordanian, plus 20 of their affiliate carriers. Dragonair, named the best airline serving China for the past five years, will join as an affiliate later this year.

  With oneworld the only alliance with any member airline based in the Americas south of Mexico, in the Middle East or in Australia, it offers the world's only truly global network, with its airlines serving some 700 destinations in almost 150 countries, carrying more than 320 million passengers a year worldwide on around 9.500 daily departures.

  Eight of oneworld's member airlines serve Italy with their own flights - American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Malév Hungarian Airlines and Royal Jordanian. Together, these airlines serve 14 mainland and island Italian airports - Rome Fuimicino, Milan Linate, Milan Malpensa, Bari, Bologna, Cagliari, Catania, Florence Pisa, Naples, Olbia, Palermo, Turin, Venice and Verona. Genoa will be added as the alliance's 15^th Italian gateway next month.

  From Italy, these airlines offer a total of more than a thousand flights a week with direct services to 15 destinations in Europe, the Americas and Asia and the smoothest of connections from there to the near 700 destinations in almost 150 countries served by the alliance worldwide. Last year, they provided approaching ten million seats on flights to or from Italy.

  The million miles sweepstake is the cornerstone of the grouping's largest yet drive to win a bigger share of the air travel market from Italy. The campaign is being supported by a multi-million Euro marketing communications campaign, including its first advertising in the country.

  The overall aim is to increase awareness of oneworld and its member airlines and the services and benefits they provide - with that translating into more customers and more revenues for its airlines.

  oneworld Vice-President Commercial Nicolas Ferri, in Milan today for the launch of this initiative, said: "Collectively, oneworld's member airlines offer travellers from Italy the world. We want all Italians to know this and realise that they really do have a choice when it comes to travelling anywhere around the world. We very much look forward to welcoming many more of them on board flights by our member airlines.

  "For oneworld, this is our biggest investment yet in marketing communications in this region. We will be tracking its progress very carefully to ensure it delivers greater awareness of our alliance in this important market – resulting in more customers, more revenues and a bigger market share for our member airlines."

  About oneworld

  oneworld 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.

  It 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 latest World Travel Awards, based on votes cast by some 170.000 travel professionals, including more than 110.000 travel agents in 200 countries.

  It is also the alliance whose members collectively have the best financial track record.

  Notes

  All frequent flyer mileage equivalents are based on American Airlines' AAdvantage scheme redemption rates.