oneworld
oneworld airlines sweep the board for best loyalty schemes
oneworld® alliance members swept the board in a survey to find the best airline loyalty schemes – taking every single top award.
Cash strapped Kingfisher oneworld membership on hold
Is another airline about to fall as Kingfisher Airlines stalls its airline alliance membership?
airberlin joins oneworld airline alliance
airberlin will become a full member of oneworld® with effect from Tuesday 20th March 2012, adding Europe‘s sixth largest carrier to the premier global airline alliance.
Kingfisher Airlines to join oneworld from 10th February
Kingfisher Airlines will become part of oneworld® with effect from Friday 10 February 2012, adding India’s leading carrier to the premier global airline alliance. Read more
President of American AirlinesTom Horton elected oneworld Chairman
The Governing Board of the oneworld® global airline alliance, has elected American Airlines’ Chairman, President and Chief Executive Tom Horton as its Chairman. Read more
Royal Jordanian and airberlin enter new codeshare agreement
Royal Jordanian Airlines — a member of oneworld airline alliance — and airberlin, have entered into a codeshare agreement that will add some points to the route network of both carriers. The agreement applies to flights starting from the 1st November 2011.
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Russia's S7 Airlines to be part of oneworld alliance from 15 November
S7 Airlines, Russia’s leading domestic carrier, will become part of oneworld® with effect from Monday 15th November, offering the alliance’s full range of services and benefits from then.
Its addition will substantially expand the alliance’s network throughout Russia and the rest of the Commonwealth of Independent States – in the latest step by oneworld to establish itself as the world’s premier alliance in what is turning out to be a breakthrough year for the group.
From the 15th November 2010 members of the S7 Priority frequent flyer programme will be able to earn and redeem mileage awards on all oneworld partners, who include some of the biggest and best airlines in the world – American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, LAN Airlines, Malév Hungarian Airlines, Mexicana, Qantas and Royal Jordanian and almost 20 affiliated airline.
S7 Priority Platinum and Gold cardholders will have oneworld Emerald and Sapphire status respectively, gaining them access to more than 500 airport lounges worldwide offered by the alliance’s airlines. S7 Priority Silver cardholders will have oneworld Ruby status.
All S7 Priority Platinum, Gold and Silver cardholders will soon be sent new membership cards, bearing the oneworld logo, to ensure they receive their alliance benefits from the 15th November.
Also from the 15th November, members of the established oneworld airlines’ frequent flyer programmes will be able to earn and redeem awards and tier status points and receive all other oneworld benefits on S7.
Its network – covering 90 destinations and 28 countries, including 45 points in Russia and some 25 destinations in other parts of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) – will from then be covered by oneworld’s full and extensive range of alliance fares and sales products.
S7′s Russian domestic market is the world’s largest country in terms of land mass, the ninth most populous and with the eighth biggest gross domestic product. Currently seven of oneworld’s established airlines – British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Malev Hungarian Airlines and Royal Jordanian – serve Moscow, plus St Petersburg and Ekaterinburg in Russia.
The new oneworld recruit will add 55 destinations in the region to the alliance map, and nine countries, in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. This will almost triple the number of destinations served by oneworld in Russia, the CIS and other parts of East Europe to a total 84 destinations in 26 countries.
For S7, joining oneworld will strengthen its competitive offering and its financial position, enabling it to offer customers an unrivalled alliance global network served by partners including some of the best and biggest airlines in the world.
Its addition will extend oneworld’s global coverage to a total of more than 750 destinations in almost 150 countries, served by a total of 8,500 departures a day operated by a combined fleet of some 2,250 aircraft, carrying 300 million passengers a year, with annual revenues of more than US$85 billion.
British Airways has been supporting S7 through its 18-month alliance implementation project, as its oneworld sponsor airline, with working groups covering some 35 streams of activity.
Work is well advanced in linking up S7′s IT systems to those of oneworld’s established members. Projects are also nearing completion to bring S7′s various internal processes and procedures into line with the alliance’s requirements, and extensive employee training and communications programmes are now underway at the S7 and the alliance’s existing members, to ensure they are ready to provide oneworld’s customer services and benefits across the expanded alliance from the 15th November.
oneworld Managing Partner John McCulloch said: “S7 will expand oneworld’s network substantially in a key region of growing travel demand, with a carrier that matches our demanding quality requirements, while enabling S7 to offer its customers a truly global network on quality partners. We are delighted to be welcoming them to the oneworld alliance.”
S7 Chief Executive Vladimir Obyedkov said: “S7 Airlines is delighted to be joining the world’s premier global airline alliance. Becoming part of oneworld will be one of the most significant steps in S7′s history. It will enable us to offer our customers a truly global network served by partners who include some of the best known and most admired airlines in the world, while our frequent flyers will have more opportunities to earn and redeem mileage rewards and enjoy all their other benefits. It will also strengthen us financially, through revenues from passengers transferring to our network from our oneworld partners and the cost reduction opportunities the alliance offers.”
Oneworld Airline Alliance launches first ad campaign in Japan
oneworld®, the leading quality airline alliance, is launching its first major advertising campaign in Japan this week. Read more
JAL seek antitrust immunity with American Airlines for closer ties on US Asia flights
Today, Japan Airlines (JAL) applied to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) of Japan, seeking antitrust immunity with American Airlines (AA) so that both members of the oneworld® Alliance may enter a Joint Business Agreement (JBA) and cooperate more closely on the operations of flights between North America and Asia.
“We are excited to have taken another defining step towards forging a closer relationship with our partner American Airlines so that we can combine strengths to offer our customers travelling on trans-Pacific routes unprecedented convenience and flexibility.” said Japan Airlines President and Chief Operating Officer Masaru Onishi of what will be Japan’s first ever antitrust immunity application. “With the immunity, we can greatly enhance competition in this region of growth, including at the strategically-located Haneda Airport which will soon commence scheduled international flights. This is an opportune time for both airlines to retain existing customers, attract new travellers and to lift revenue.”
Japan Airlines and American Airlines have jointly submitted the application for antitrust immunity with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) on February 12, 2010.
“We very much look forward to working even more closely with our valued oneworld partner, Japan Airlines,” said Gerard Arpey, AMR’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “We appreciate the important role of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and look forward to receiving the appropriate government approvals that will allow us to provide customers with more integrated air service in one of the world’s growing aviation markets and provide benefits to both the U.S. and Japanese economies.”
Upon attaining approval from the MLIT and the U.S. DOT, Japan Airlines and American Airlines will operate as two independent legal entities working closely together to strengthen their service offerings to customers on their flights between the United States and Asia. Passengers will benefit from a more comprehensive network, expanded flight options, access to more fare levels and enhanced services while continuing to enjoy reciprocal frequent flyer accrual and redemption benefits and access to both airlines’ lounges. JAL and AA will also be able to improve their efficiencies, lower operating costs, and robustly heighten competition in the trans-Pacific aviation market.
Iberia signs Airbus engine maintenance contract with Cathay Pacific
Iberia Maintenance and Cathay Pacific have signed a contract under which the Spanish company will repair and maintain of the Asian carrier’s 49 CFM56-5C4 engines on 11 Airbus A340-300.
The work will be carried out at Iberia’s engine workshop, a 52,500 m2 facility near the Madrid-Barajas airport.
Iberia conducts all types of maintenance services on its own engines and those of other airlines. These services include dismantling, cleaning, inspection, and repair of components, and reassembly and follow-up.
The volume of engine work carried out by Iberia Maintenance has increased by 15% in recent years, with gains both in the number of engines serviced –183 in the year to date– and customers, which now number more than 30. The increased workload has occasioned an expansion of staff and productive improvements.
Iberia’s facilities include a testing bench for engines of up to 100,000 lb. of thrust for to verify performance after servicing.
Like Iberia, Cathay Pacific is a member of the oneworld airline alliance. The flag carrier of Hong Kong was founded in 1946, and it serves 116 destinations in 35 nations of Asia, the Pacific, Europe, North America, and Africa. The airline auditing firm Skytrax named it the airline of the year in 2009 for the quality of its customer service.
Iberia Maintenance is the maintenance unit of Iberia Airline of Spain, and it boasts modern and well-equipped installations near Madrid-Barajas airport, where it maintains the airframes and engines of the Iberia fleet, and also serves more than third-party 100 clients around the world, including British Airways, Continental Airlines, Atlasjet, SAS, DHL, Meridiana, Air Finlandia, and now, Cathay Pacific. Its Spanish clients include Iberworld, Air Europa, Spanair, and Vueling.
Iberia Maintenance is the world’s ninth-largest aircraft maintenance operator, excluding OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) and posted sales of some 732.5 million euros in 2009.
