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LONDON —

British Airways PLC, American Airlines and Spain's Iberia SA said Thursday they have signed a joint business agreement on flights between North America and Europe.

The three airlines said that they planned to file for worldwide antitrust immunity from US authorities for the deal later Thursday. They will also notify European regulatory authorities.

A deal between the trio has long been anticipated — rival carrier Virgin Atlantic earlier this week sent a pre-emptive letter to both US presidential candidates warning that a deal would be anticompetitive on the lucrative trans-Atlantic route.

BA, AMR Corp.'s American and Iberia argued that a closer relationship on pricing and seat capacity will benefit customers by providing improved connections and flight schedules.

Under the joint business agreement, the three airlines will cooperate commercially on flights between the US, Mexico and Canada, and the European Union, Switzerland and Norway while continuing to operate as separate legal entities.

They will expand their codeshare arrangements on flights within and beyond the EU and US, significantly increasing the number of destination choices that the airlines can offer customers.

"We believe our proposed cooperation is an important step towards ensuring that we can compete effectively with rival alliances and manage through the challenges of record fuel prices and growing economic concerns," said AMR Corp. chairman and chief executive Gerard Arpey. "In addition, we believe we will be more effective competitors with greater ability to invest in our products and services."