British Airways is seeking to strengthen its bilateral relationship with American Airlines as a way of bolstering the Oneworld alliance, which the two carriers lead and which numbers Aer Lingus among its members.

The Oneworld alliance came under strain in recent months as BA sought to negotiate a takeover of KLM, which would have led to a new transatlantic alliance with KLM's main US partner, Northwest Airlines, and with Continental Airlines. The KLM negotiations collapsed in the autumn, however. Later talks on forming a link with Delta Air Lines also made no progress.