Canadian Airlines - oneworld Welcomes Iberia on Board.

CALGARY, ALBERTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 16, 1999--Canadian Airlines Co(TSE:CA.) (VSE:CA.) (Alberta Stock Exchange:CA.) American Airlines, British Airways, Canadian Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways and Qantas Airways today welcomed Iberia on board their oneworld alliance.

Spain's leading airline will start offering oneworld services and benefits later this year after its 25,291 employees have first taken part in the oneworld training and communications programme. Also, the airline's systems will need to be linked with the other oneworld members before Iberia becomes a full partner in the alliance.

The addition of Iberia means the oneworld members, including Finnair which is also to join later this year, will together carry a total of 206 million passengers on a fleet of 1,783 aircraft a year to 682 destinations in 143 countries.

Today's Friday announcement was made by the Chief Executives of the oneworld airlines in Sydney, where they are holding their quarterly meeting.

On behalf of the founding five, Kevin Benson, President and CEO of Canadian Airlines, said: "We are delighted to welcome Iberia on board oneworld. With its extensive network across Spain and throughout Latin America and its commitment to the highest customer services standards, Iberia is an ideal addition to the oneworld family."

Xabier de Irala, Iberia's Chairman, said: "Alliances will be vital for Iberia in the increasingly competitive airline environment of the 21st Century and we are very pleased to join the world's leading airline alliance."

In a progress report on oneworld today, the Chief Executives said the launch of oneworld services and benefits on February 1 had gone smoothly, and thousands of passengers have already benefitted from the benefits the alliance offers.

Notes to editors:

oneworld will enable each carrier to offer customers services and products that it cannot provide by itself, responding to changes in the global airline marketplace. These include: requent flyer programmes. This will enable members of the five airlines' frequent flyer programmes to earn and redeem miles on any eligible flights and fares of the oneworld alliance airlines. Qualifying flights will also count towards frequent flyer tier status.

- Top tier frequent flyer cards will be reissued with new Emerald,

Saphire and Ruby symbols, to ensure members receive the

appropriate recognition and privileges to which they are

accustomed no matter on which of the five airlines they are

flying.

- Access to the five airlines' 200 plus exclusive lounges for

eligible members of their frequent flyer schemes, no matter on

which of the five airlines they are travelling, along with

priority check-in, standby and waitlisting, and preferred seating

and boarding.

- Smoother transfers for passengers travelling across the global

networks of the five carriers.

- Greater support, with employees of each airline equipped to

assist and care for customers travelling with any of the oneworld

airlines.

- Greater value, through a range of round-the-world products,

including the launch of oneworld Explorer fares.

While it does not specifically apply to their cargo activities, the airlines involved are working on a series of initiatives to enable them to offer improved services to their freight and mail customers.

Iberia's involvement in oneworld augments the marketing agreements announced today between the Spanish carrier and American Airlines and British Airways.

oneworld (TM): KEY FACTS AND FIGURES

1 The seven airline members of oneworld (tm), with their franchise

and partner airlines covered by today's agreement, have networks

that serve 682 destinations in 143 countries. (For further

statistics, see attached table.)

2 They carried a total of 206 million passengers last year -

equivalent of one in 28 of the world's population. Every second,

six passengers check in for a flight by an airline member of

oneworld.

3 They also flew 2.9 million tonnes of cargo last year equivalent

to loading 200 lbs every second.

4 The members of oneworld operate a total of 1783 aircraft.

5 They fly a total of nearly seven million miles a day equivalent

to 280 times around the world's circumference every day.

6 A flight by a member of oneworld takes off somewhere around the

world almost every 10 seconds.

7 The members of oneworld employ among them 254,150 people.

8 The airline members of oneworld serve some half a million meals a

day - the equivalent of feeding a family of six for a lifetime.

9 The members of oneworld load almost a million items of baggage a

day.

10 Employees of the original five member airlines have spent an

estimated 255 man years on oneworld training and communication

before oneworld took off on February 1

oneworld logos and other material and further background on each of the carriers are available on their web sites:

www.oneworldalliance.com www.aa.com www.britishairways.com www.cdnair.ca www.cathaypacific-air.com www.iberia.com www.qantas.com.au