US Airways is to join the American Airlines transatlantic venture with British Airways, Iberia and Finnair.
The addition of US Airways will add 28 routes to the joint business. US Airways has hubs in Charlotte, North Carolina, Philadelphia and Phoenix.
Flights from North America to 18 European cities will be added, including Athens, Amsterdam and Munich. The joint business already provides more than 50 daily transatlantic flights
With combined operations, the joint business will serve 29 destinations in North America and 25 destinations in Europe, operating nearly 100 routes between the two regions.
The addition of USAirways gives the American-British Airways alliance “twice the scale” of a similar arrangement between Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic earlier this year which operates more than 30 flights, according to American chief executive Doug Parker.
Former American parent AMR Corp and US Airways merged in December to create the world’s largest airline. American, British Airways and Iberia set up the joint transatlantic business in October 2010.
Parker said: “Bringing US Airways into the joint business network is an important step for us as we continue to advance our collaboration with alliance partners to increase growth, market share and competition.
“Joining our entire merged company into this agreement creates a stronger and more competitive joint business, and will provide faster and easier connections for customers on hundreds of flights between North America and Europe.”
Willie Walsh, chief executive of BA and Iberia parent International Airlines Group, said: “The inclusion of US Airways will not only expand the network of our transatlantic family, it will also broaden the appeal of our services to new and existing customers who will have even more flexibility, added convenience and improved rewards when traveling between Europe and North America.”