Links improved between key oneworld hubs, making travel easier across its 571 destination network

Hong Kong: Links between key oneworld™ hub airports are being enhanced this summer through a series of new flights launched by the alliance's eight member airlines – Aer Lingus, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, Finnair, Iberia, LanChile and Qantas.

The launch of these new and up-graded connections will make travel across the group's network – covering 135 countries and territories, more than any other global alliance, and 571 destinations - even easier. They are likely to prove especially attractive to passengers flying around the world with oneworld's highly popular Explorer tickets.

Their introduction, announced today after the Chief Executives of the eight member airlines met in Hong Kong for their latest oneworld Governing Board, follows agreement between the carriers to accelerate plans to deepen the levels of co-operation between them, introducing new customer benefits and building shareholder value.

They new and improved links include:

• Dublin-Helsinki: Finnair has up-graded services between its Helsinki hub and oneworld partner Aer Lingus' Dublin base to offer daily non-stop flights.
   
• Helsinki-Hong Kong: For the first time, Cathay Pacific's base is now linked to Finnair's hub with direct flights. Operated by the Finnish airline three times a week, they provide excellent connections at either end of the route. From Hong Kong, Cathay Pacific offers services to almost 30 points in Asia, with Finnair flying to 50 cities in Europe from Helsinki, including 17 in Finland. Its geographical position and its hassle-free airport make Helsinki an ideal transfer point between Europe and Asia.
   
• Helsinki-Sydney: Finnair and Qantas have just extended code-sharing on one another's Helsinki and Sydney services connecting at Bangkok, to provide smooth daily links between the two cities.
   
• Hong Kong-London: Cathay Pacific will introduce its first daylight flights from its home base to London Heathrow on 2 July, flying four times a week in addition to the 28 overnight flights offered each week by it and British Airways. The UK carrier links Heathrow with five regional destinations in the UK, 32 cities in continental Europe and 23 in the Americas.
   
• Hong Kong-Sydney: Qantas has recently introduced its first daylight flights from Cathay Pacific's Hong Kong hub to its Sydney base, three days a week. Qantas and Cathay already operate two flights each on the route, all overnight. Northbound, the new Qantas service means a second overnight service thrice weekly, in addition to the three daylights offered by the two airlines.
   
• London-USA: Both American Airlines and British Airways have this summer reinstated a number of frequencies between London and key oneworld US hubs.
   
• Los Angeles-Sydney: Qantas will resume its fourth daily frequency between Australia and Los Angeles on 1 July.
   
• Santiago-Sydney: LanChile's Santiago home will be linked directly with Qantas' Sydney base for the first time from 1 July when the Chilean carrier starts three-a-week flights on the routes, via Auckland. Its Airbus A340s will also carry Qantas' QF code.