oneworld's new businessflyer website makes it even easier for small and medium sized businesses to save on air travel

10 September 2008

Saving money on international air travel has just become a whole lot easier for small and medium sized businesses in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Switzerland with oneworld, the world's leading quality airline alliance, making it even simpler for them to enroll in and book tickets through its businessflyer™ programme.

The alliance - which brings together ten of the world's biggest and best airlines and around 20 of their affiliates - has just switched on a new, easier-to-use website to support businessflyer, complete with an improved and more user-friendly booking facility.

businessflyer offers small and medium-sized companies in these countries discounts air fares to more than a hundred cities in Europe, North America, South American, Asia and Australasia in return for a more regular relationship with the alliance.  Savings are instant and regardless of the number of flights bought.  To benefit, companies simply need to be registered as businessflyer users.  Tickets can be bought on-line, or via the company's preferred travel agent.

The website up-grade has been based on feedback from the near 8.000 organisations already registered as businessflyer users.

It is now accessible directly from the alliance's main internet site, www.oneworld.com, and reflects more closely that main site's look, feel and navigation.  It is available in French, German and Italian, besides English.

Besides the improved booking system, it also provides in one easily accessible place all the latest information from the alliance and its member airlines that is most relevant to businessflyer customers.

Departures using businessflyer fares are available from all airports served by oneworld member airlines in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Switzerland, with train connections available in many instances.

oneworld Commercial Director Filip Lemmens said: "businessflyer's improved website and booking system makes oneworld member airlines an even more compelling alternative to the national carrier for the worldwide travel needs of businesses throughout Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Switzerland - flights on some of the highest quality airlines in the world, across a truly global route network, with great flexibility and substantial financial savings and now even more easy to book."

businessflyer fares are available for travel in Economy Class, Business of First, enabling companies to benefit whatever the requirements of their travel policy.  The tickets provide maximum flexibility, so itineraries or dates can be changed until just before departure.  businessflyer fares attract frequent flyer rewards and tier status points.

For more information, see www.oneworld.com/ow/air-travel-options/business-travel/businessflyer

About oneworld

oneworld brings together some of the best and biggest names in the airline business - American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, LAN, Malev, Hungarian Airlines, Qantas and Royal Jordanian, plus some 20 affiliates, including American Eagle, South Africa's Comair, Dragonair, Lan Argentina, LAN Ecuador and LAN Peru.  Mexicana will join in 2009, with its subsidiary Click Mexicana as an affiliate.

Its airlines serve some 700 destinations in 150 countries and offer almost 550 airport lounges worldwide.  They carried around 320 million passengers last year.  It is the only alliance with any member based in South America, Asia's Middle East or Australia.

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.  oneworld 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 fifth year running in the 2007 World Travel Awards, based on votes cast by some 170.000 travel professionals, including more than 110.000 travel agents in 200 countries.