American Airlines to fly to Ghana

... as it expands Swiss codeshare

American Airlines said it plans to increase its routes throughout Europe and Africa through an expanded codeshare agreement with Swiss, Switzerland's national carrier.

Beginning Oct. 16, Fort Worth-based American will place its AA code on Swiss flights on routes between Zurich and Johannesburg, South Africa; Accra, Ghana; Lagos, Nigeria; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Budapest, Hungary; and Tirana, Albania.

American, owned by AMR Corp., flies to Zurich from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and New York's John F. Kennedy Airport.

Over the past year, American has put increased emphasis on expanding cooperation with its strategic alliance partners. Among the new routes added in recent months were service to Delhi and Bombay, India, with Swiss via Zurich and to Seoul, Korea, with Japan Airlines via Tokyo.

American said it hopes to add in the near future codeshare service to Hong Kong with Cathay Pacific via Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York, as well as codeshare service with Japan Airlines to Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, Vietnam, via Tokyo. Government approval for these agreements are pending.

"American's goal to expand its international reach is ever more critical during the industry's financial crisis," said Henry Joyner, senior vice president of planning, in a statement. "Expanding through cooperative relationships is a smart, efficient way to add service strategically during this challenging time in the industry."