The launch next April by American Airlines of a daily flight from New York JFK to Budapest was announced on October 7th in Budapest, and London at the same time. The first American Boeing 767-323ER aircraft is planned to land at Budapest Airport on 4 April 2011. This is part of the global flight development plan, the details of which together with the trans-Atlantic cooperation of American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia Airlines , were announced in London this week.

As a member of the One World airline association, American Airlines considers Budapest an important destination in Central/Eastern Europe, as incoming passengers and cargo will benefit from direct access to the network of Malev, another member of One World. The new trans-Atlantic B767 323ER flight schedule was announced in London following the decisions of both the American and the European Union competition authorities to approve the trans-Atlantic business cooperation of American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia. This means that in this highly competitive market, the One World alliance will provide a total of 91 flights a day under the One World flag.

Jost Lammers, CEO of Budapest Airport welcomed the achievement after personally being involved in the negotiations and recognised the contributions made to this success by the Budapest Airport team as well as the Hungarian National Tourism Organization and Malev. 'The vision of just a few people in the alliance and network planning team at American Airlines has lifted the profile of Budapest as being a One World hub with significant growth potential and we are delighted with their confirmation of this development.'

Director Aviation Kam Jandu who has been working with his colleagues to realize this project since 2009 said, 'Adding another long haul carrier is an achievement in itself under the present circumstances of the aviation industry, but more than that, the appearance of a major One World carrier in Budapest further broadens the offer, and sends a strong message to other member airlines that the Hungarian capital is now starting to realize its One World hub potential.'

Direct daily bellyhold cargo capacity to and from the USA will be a great advantage for Hungarian based exporters and importers such as pharmaceutical manufacturers Richter Gedeon, vaccine makers GSK and US chemical company Albermarle Corporation. With a young, qualified and , multi-lingual workforce available, Budapest is fast becoming highly attractive to foreign manufacturers and distribution companies. The presence of major long hall carriers such as American Airlines with the OneWorld network will be a great asset to the Hungarian economy.