Japanese ministry approves Iberia’s inclusion to the joint business between Japan Airlines, British Airways and Finnair

Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) has granted an extension of the anti-trust immunity to include Iberia in the joint business between Japan Airlines, British Airways and Finnair, allowing the four airlines to cooperate commercially on flights between Europe and Japan.

Iberia is expected to join the existing joint business between the other three airlines as from October 18, 2016.

Iberia will start its non-stop operations between Madrid and Tokyo on October 18th. Its addition to the joint business will provide customers with a larger network, more flights, better connections and more frequent flyer benefits.

The revenue-sharing agreement will strengthen the oneworld® alliance and enable it to compete more effectively around the world with other global alliances.

“We would like to thank the regulators for approving our ATI application for Iberia joining Japan Airlines, British Airways and Finnair in our current joint business between Japan and Europe,” said Yoshiharu Ueki, President of JAL. “This move will allow us to further strengthen our partnership with oneworld partner airlines, and will provide our customers with further benefits for travels between Japan and Europe.”

Alex Cruz, President and chief executive of British Airways said, “We are delighted our sister airline Iberia will be joining our oneworld partners in the joint business. The addition of more European flights to Japan, along with the benefits of co-ordinated schedules and frequent flyer rewards is fantastic news for consumers. Iberia’s direct flights between Narita and Madrid will be a very popular addition.”

Pekka Vauramo, CEO of Finnair, said, “The addition of Iberia to our existing joint business between Europe and Japan is a great asset and we look forward to working closely with all our partners in this alliance. We are especially pleased with the benefits and opportunities this will generate for our oneworld customers travelling between both continents.”

Luis Gallego, President and CEO of Iberia, said “We are very happy to launch our non-stop flights to Japan as part of this joint business. We want to offer our customers more and better travel options and this will help us do so.  We are also glad to contribute to the strength of the joint business and the oneworld alliance”