Tag Archives: Oneworld

TAM joins Oneworld today

TAM Airlines (TAM Linhas Aereas) (Sao Paulo), the Brazilian carrier of the LATAM Airlines Group, today (March 31) joined Oneworld, an airline alliance currently undergoing the largest expansion in its history.

This is one of the most important steps to achieve the entry of all LATAM Airlines Group into Oneworld. LAN Airlines has been a member of Oneworld since 2000 as well as all of its affiliates, namely LAN Argentina, LAN Colombia, LAN Ecuador and LAN Peru, have already joined. TAM’s affiliated airline in Paraguay (TAM Mercosur), will also join Oneworld soon. As a result, all passenger airlines of the LATAM Airlines Group will be members of the same alliance.

To celebrate this moment, today TAM’s first aircraft bearing the Oneworld logo will be on display at Congonhas Airport in Sao Paulo with the presence of CEOs and representatives of all Oneworld member airlines, who traveled to Brazil especially for this event.

As a result of the merger with LAN Airlines, TAM left the Star Alliance to join Oneworld.

Image: TAM.

TAM:

American Airlines to re-bank its hubs to increase revenue

American Airlines‘ (Dallas/Fort Worth) new management led by new CEO Doug Parker is re-banking its hubs to increase revenue starting with the Miami hub in August according to the Dallas News.

Previously the old AA management had developed a “rolling hub” concept like other carriers did after the 9/11 attacks rather than a true “all at once” hub of the past. Parker is going back to the true hub concept which will increase revenue and allow for more quick connections. However during storm events, it can also stretch the hub facilities including runway capacities and available gates. Summer afternoon thunderstorms affect many of the hubs, especially Miami and winter snow and ice storms affect the northern hubs. When the weather is fine, the hub usually works well and it makes money. When things back up due to weather or a security-related event, the hub can unravel quickly leading to missed connections.

Like other carriers, American is now going back to a banked schedule for its hubs.

Read the full article: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Brian Peters/AirlinersGallery.com. American’s newly-repainted Boeing 777-223 ER N791AN (msn 30254) in the Oneworld scheme arrives at Los Angeles.

So far in our reader’s poll the current new AA tail is winning by 58 percent of the votes. Have you voted in our informal poll on which AA color scheme should be adopted for the total fleet? If not vote here: CLICK HERE

American Airlines:

Finnair and its pilots agree on a new collective labor agreement

Finnair (Helsinki) has issued this statement:

The Association of Support Service Industries (PALTA) and the Finnish Air Line Pilots’ Association (SLL) have reached a new collective labor agreement for Finnair’s pilots. The new collective labor agreement comes into effect on February 1, 2014 and it is in line with the central Pact for Employment and Growth. The three-year contract includes a crisis clause similar to the ones in the collective labor agreements which were reached with other employee unions this fall. According to the crisis clause, in the coming months Finnair will negotiate with SLL on cost savings. If an agreement on the savings is reached by June 13, 2014, Finnair will offer pilots job security for two years.

“The collective agreement period with the pilots was coming to an end in January, and it was natural to agree to terms similar to those reached with other employee unions during the fall”, says Finnair’s Chief Operations Officer Ville Iho. “During previous negotiation rounds the pilots have shown understanding for Finnair’s situation and have been ready for solutions that increase cost effectiveness. Discussions about savings are never easy, but I’m confident that together we will find required savings.”

The savings negotiations will begin on January 9, 2014.

Copyright Photo: Rolf Wallner/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A319-112 OH-LVD (msn 1352) in the Oneworld scheme taxies at Zurich.

Finnair:

US Airways will leave the Star Alliance on March 30 and join oneworld the following day

US Airways (Phoenix) will join oneworld® on March 31, 2014, following completion of its merger with alliance founding member American Airlines (Dallas/Fort Worth). All its regional affiliates, operating under the US Airways Express brand, will also transition to oneworld at the same time.

The entry into oneworld on March 31, 2014 will follow immediately upon their exit from the Star Alliance with the final flights on March 30, 2014.

Copyright Photo: Nick Dean/AirlinersGallery.com. The Boeing 757-200s and Airbus A319s currently in the Star Alliance color scheme are expected to receive the oneworld version shortly. Boeing 757-2B7 N936UW (msn 27244) arrives at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA).

US Airways:

Logojets Slide Show:

AMR Corporation and the US Airways Group come together as the American Airlines Group

AMR Corporation (Dallas/Fort Worth) and US Airways Group, Inc. (Phoenix) today announced the completion of their merger to officially form American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ: AAL) and begin building the new American Airlines (Dallas/Fort Worth).

According to the new airline group, “The new American has a robust global network with nearly 6,700 daily flights to more than 330 destinations in more than 50 countries and more than 100,000 employees worldwide. The combined airline has the scale, breadth and capabilities to compete more effectively and profitably in the global marketplace. Customers will soon enjoy access to more benefits and increased service across the combined company’s larger worldwide network and through an enhanced oneworld® Alliance. US Airways will exit Star Alliance on March 30, 2014 and will immediately enteroneworld on March 31, 2014. With an expanded global network and a strong financial foundation, American will deliver significant benefits to consumers, communities, employees and stakeholders.”

Although American and US Airways have come together as one company, the process to achieve a Single Operating Certificate is expected to take approximately 18 to 24 months. In the meantime, customers should continue to do business with the airline from which travel was purchased just as they did before the merger. In short, it is “business as usual.” The airlines’ separate websites, aa.com and usairways.com, as well as the two airlines’ reservations systems and loyalty programs, will continue to operate separately until further in the integration process.

Customer benefits of the transaction to be rolled out over time include:

A codeshare agreement between American and US Airways, creating more convenient access to the combined company’s global network
More choices and connectivity, with nine hub airports across the U.S.
Global access to a stronger oneworld alliance – including joint businesses with British Airways, Iberia and Finnair across the Atlantic and with Japan Airlines and Qantas across the Pacific – creating more options for travel and benefits both domestically and internationally
Reciprocal American Admirals Club and US Airways Club benefits and reciprocal elite recognition
Upgrade reciprocity
Consolidation of loyalty programs and expanded opportunities to earn and redeem miles across the combined network
Full integration of policies, websites, kiosks and customer-facing technology to ensure a consistent worldwide travel experience
Co-location of ticket counters and gates in key markets
With firm orders for more than 600 new mainline aircraft, American will have one of the most modern and efficient fleets in the industry, and a solid foundation for continued investment in technology, products, and services

Customers will begin to see enhancements to their experience in early January, including the ability to earn and redeem miles when traveling on either American Airlines or US Airways, reciprocal American Admirals Club and US Airways Club benefits, and reciprocal elite recognition. The combined airline expects to share more details around these key customer benefits early next year.

As the integration process is underway, American’s new Find Your Way site, aa.com/findyourway, will connect customers to key information throughout the merger integration process. Additionally, customers should visit aa.com and usairways.com, which will continue to be regularly updated with news on any fee, policy and procedure changes.

Employees of the new American will benefit from being part of a company with a more competitive and stronger financial foundation, which will create greater career opportunities over the long term. The completed merger also provides the path to improved compensation and benefits for employees.

Alignment of pay, benefits, work rules and other guidelines for employees of both airlines will be phased in over time so that all changes can be carefully considered. Represented employees will continue to work under their respective Collective Bargaining Agreements, with the modifications provided under the negotiated Memoranda of Understanding for certain groups. American’s non-represented Agents, Representatives and Planners will operate under their current terms and conditions of employment with merger-related adjustments.

The combination is expected to deliver enhanced value to American Airlines’ stakeholders and US Airways’ investors. The transaction is expected to generate more than $1 billion in annual net synergies by 2015.

The common and preferred stock of American Airlines Group will trade on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbols “AAL” and “AALCP,” respectively.

Rothschild is serving as financial advisor to American Airlines, and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, Jones Day, Paul Hastings, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP and K&L Gates LLP are serving as legal counsel. Barclays and Millstein & Co. are serving as financial advisors to US Airways, and Latham & Watkins LLP, O’Melveny & Myers LLP, Dechert LLP and Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP are serving as legal counsel to US Airways. Moelis & Company and Mesirow Financial are serving as financial advisors to the Unsecured Creditors Committee. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Togut, Segal & Segal LLP are serving as the Unsecured Creditors Committee’s legal counsel.

Copyright Photo: Brian Peters/AirlinersGallery.com. Repainted with the new tail markings, Boeing 777-223 ER N791AN (msn 30254) departs from the DFW Hub in the “new look” AA Oneworld livery. N791AN is the first American aircraft to appear in the updated Oneworld color scheme.

Video: A “Thank You” from outgoing CEO Tom Horton of the American Airlines:

American Airlines:

Finnair to install Zodiac fully-flat seats on its long range aircraft

Finnair (Helsinki) has announced it will install new fully flat seats in most of its existing long haul aircraft starting in January. Once the installation program is completed by fall 2014, all of Finnair’s long haul Airbus fleet will have full flat seats in Business Class, with the exception of three older aircraft. These three aircraft will be the first to be removed from the fleet with the arrival of A350 XWBs in 2015. The total investment, including replacement investments, is approximately 29 million euros or approximately 39 million dollars.

The Zodiac Seats UK Vantage model seats selected by Finnair are already in use on the airline’s four newest Airbus A330s. The seats are designed to provide a fully-flat bed measuring up to 79 inches (200 cm), while shoulder room measures 23 inches (58 cm).The fully adjustable seats also come with an individual reading light, adjustable head rest, mood lights and a range of inflight entertainment options.

DIMENSIONS

Contour Vantage A330/A340

Seat width between armrest: 20.07 inches

Seat width at shoulder level: 22.83 inches

Bed length: 79.17 inches

Bed width at head level: 20 inches

Bed width at shoulder level: 20 inches

Bed width at hip level: 20 inches

Bed width at foot level: 10.98 inches

Copyright Photo: Ton Jochems/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A340-313E OH-LQE (msn 938) in the Oneworld design arrives at the Helsinki (HEL) hub.

Finnair:

Qatar Airways joins the Oneworld alliance at midnight tonight Doha time

Qatar Airways (Doha) becomes part of oneworld® alliance at midnight Doha time tonight, adding one of the world’s fastest growing and most highly rated airlines to the world’s fastest growing and most highly rated global airline alliance.

From its first flights tomorrow morning – QR 633 which leaves Dhaka for Doha at 03.15 local (00.15 Doha time) and the QR 1166 from Doha for Riyadh, leaving five minutes later at 00.20 Doha time – Qatar Airways will be offering oneworld’s full range of services and benefits.

Qatar Airways joins oneworld just one year after receiving its invitation to join, which makes its induction into oneworld one of the fastest in the alliance’s history. A more typical timeline for an airline to comply with the many membership requirements of oneworld is 18-24 months.

For Qatar Airways, joining oneworld marks the latest achievement in its 16-year history. One of just seven carriers worldwide rated fivestar by the Skytrax airline quality agency and the organisation’s Airline of the Year 2011 and 2012 and runner-up 2013, Qatar Airways is the only one of the major Gulf carriers to join any of the global airline alliances.

Becoming part of oneworld, which holds more “best alliance” awards than any of its competitors, will strengthen Qatar Airways’ competitiveness, enabling it to offer customers an unrivalled alliance global network served by partners that include leading airlines from every region.

Qatar Airways, which serves more than 130 destinations in 70 countries across the Middle East, Europe, Africa, North and South America, Asia and Australasia, is oneworld’s second member airline based in the Middle East. It makes oneworld the leading alliance in one of the world’s fastest growing regions for air travel demand.

More than 20 of its destinations and five countries – Ethiopia, Iran, Rwanda, Serbia and Tanzania – will be new to the oneworld map. More significantly, Qatar Airways will substantially strengthen the alliance’s customer offering by providing superior routing alternatives across many hundreds of city pairs. For example, passengers flying between Asia and Southern Europe or between Asia and Africa will now have convenient one-stop connections not previously available within the oneworld network.

Worldwide, with the other airlines lining up to join, oneworld will:

Serve almost a thousand airports in more than 150 countries, with 14,000 daily departures.
Carry 475 million passengers a year on a combined fleet of some 3,300 aircraft.
Generate US$ 140 billion annual revenues.

Qatar Airways 777 in oneworld livery is first aircraft to ‘land’ at Hamad International Airport

At a ceremony to mark its entry into oneworld, held at Hamad International Airport, which will open soon as Qatar Airways’ new home base, Qatar Airways spectacularly “unveiled” the first aircraft in its fleet to be decorated in a special oneworld livery – with the Boeing 777-300 becoming the first aircraft to “land” at the new airport.

The state-of-the-art $15.5 billion Hamad International Airport is designed to strengthen Doha’s role as a premium global hub. The new airport has an eventual capacity for 50 million passengers a year.

Under the patronage of the Prime Minister of Qatar His Excellency Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al-Thani, the ceremony was hosted by Qatar Airways’ Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker and attended by the CEOs and senior executives from all other oneworld member airlines, including:

Chief Executive of IAG, the parent company of oneworld’s British Airways and Iberia and also of Vueling, which is not part of the alliance, Willie Walsh.
oneworld CEO Bruce Ashby.
Finnair’s President and Chief Executive Pekka Vauramo.
Japan Airlines’ Chairman Masaru Onishi.
Malaysia Airlines’ Group CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya.
Member elect SriLankan Airlines Chairman Nishantha Wickramasinghe and Chief Executive Kapila Chandrasena.
airberlin’s Senior Vice-President Alliances Stephan Nagel.
American Airlines’ Vice-President Strategic Alliance Kurt Stache.
British Airways’ Director of Strategy and Business Units Lynne Embleton.
Cathay Pacific Airways’ Director of Sales and Marketing Rupert Hogg.
Iberia’s Director of Alliances Antonio Pimentel.
LATAM Airlines Group’s Vice-President Strategic Alliances Soledad Berrios.
Qantas’ Chief Executive Loyalty Lesley Grant.
Royal Jordanian’s Chief Commercial Officer Basma Majali.
S7 Deputy Chief Executive for Strategy Vadim Besperstov.

As they assembled, the 777-300 in its oneworld livery flew overhead before landing and becoming the first aircraft to taxi onto a stand in front of Hamad International Airport’s terminal building.

Its distinctive design features “oneworld” in blue letters some 6 ft (2 metre) high along a white fuselage and the airline’s standard tailfin, serving as a huge flying billboard highlighting that Qatar Airways is now offering the full range of oneworld services and benefits. The airline will decorate three other aircraft in its fleet in this special livery – another 777 and two Airbus A320s.

They will spearhead a massive marketing drive to promote the airline’s addition to the alliance. Starting tonight, oneworld logos will be applied by the side passenger entrance doors on Qatar Airway’s entire fleet of 130 aircraft as part of a massive rebranding programme that will also see the alliance logo added virtually wherever the Qatar Airways name is displayed – at airport check-in desks and signage, on its website, tickets, boarding passes and all items of stationery.

Qatar Airways’ addition to oneworld tonight will be promoted with of one of the biggest marketing campaigns in the airline’s history, too, with an extensive advertising campaign to highlight the new alliance services and benefits available to its customers.

All cardholders in its Privilege Club frequent flyer programme are being sent new membership cards, bearing the oneworld logo and “gemstone” tier indicator, to ensure they receive their alliance benefits from tomorrow when travelling throughout the entire oneworld global network.

Qatar Airways’ entry into oneworld completes what has been one of the biggest projects in the airline’s history, with working groups covering some 20 streams of activity, bringing its various internal processes and procedures into line with the alliance’s requirements, and running extensive employee training and communications programmes. British Airways has been supporting Qatar Airways through its alliance implementation project, as its oneworld sponsor airline, with backing from the central oneworld team.

Since accepting its invitation to join the alliance a year ago, Qatar Airways has expanded its code-sharing relationships to two established oneworld partners – American Airlines and Malaysia Airlines.

Watch a live streaming video of the press conference at 1000 local Doha time: CLICK HERE

Qatar Airways:

Cathay Pacific to add flights to both Los Angeles and Chicago O’Hare

Cathay Pacific Airways (Hong Kong) today announced that it will add a fourth daily direct flight from Los Angeles to Hong Kong on June 1, 2014 and three additional direct flights from Chicago (O’Hare) to Hong Kong on August 2, 2014, bringing the number of flights from the Windy City to 10 per week (subject to government approval).

These additional North American flights come on top of Cathay Pacific’s recent announcement that it will launch a daily direct service from Newark to Hong Kong on March 1, 2014. This will complement the airline’s current four-times-daily service from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York. Cathay Pacific also operates two daily flights from San Francisco.

The fourth Los Angeles frequency will be operated by Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft, with a consistent product offering of First, Business, Premium Economy and Economy Class seats and Cathay Pacific’s award-winning cabin services. Also operated by Boeing 777-300 0ER aircraft, all Chicago flights offer Business Class, Premium Economy Class and Economy Class products.

Details of the new flights are included in the schedule below (all times local):

LOS ANGELES (LAX) (June 2014, subject to government approval)

Flight no	From	To	Departure/Arrival	Days of operation
CX883	LAX	HKG	2355/0545+2	Daily
CX881	LAX	HKG	0115/0700+1	Daily
CX885	LAX	HKG	1255/1855+1	Daily
CX893*	LAX	HKG	0940/1525+1	Daily
CX880	HKG	LAX	2340/2155	Daily
CX882	HKG	LAX	1625/1435	Daily
CX884	HKG	LAX	1255/1110	Daily
CX892*	HKG	LAX	0930/0755	Daily

* Newly added flights. To commence on June 1, 2014.

CHICAGO (ORD) (August 2014, subject to government approval)

Flight no	From	To	Departure/Arrival	Days of operation
CX807	ORD	HKG	1530/2020+1	Daily
CX801*	ORD	HKG	0115/0550+1	Wed, Fri, Sun
CX806	HKG	ORD	1155/1350	Daily
CX802*	HKG	ORD	1825/2020	Tue, Thu, Sat

* Newly added flights. To commence on August 2, 2014.

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 777-367 ER B-KPL (msn 36161) in the Oneworld livery arrives at Los Angeles International Airport.

Cathay Pacific Airways:

LAN Colombia joins Oneworld, TAM to join on March 31, 2014

LAN Colombia (formerly AIRES Colombia) (Bogota) yesterday (October 1) joined the oneworld® alliance.

LAN Colombia, a company related to LATAM Airlines Group SA (LAN Airlines), has entered oneworld as an affiliate member. LAN Airlines has been a full member of oneworld since 2000. All its other passenger airline affiliates have subsequently joined the alliance as affiliate members – LAN Argentina, LAN Ecuador, LAN Peru and, from today, LAN Colombia – and, it was announced today, TAM will enter oneworld on 31 March 2014 with its Paraguayan affiliate to follow on a date yet to be confirmed.

This will bring all of the components of Latin America’s leading airline group into the world’s leading quality airline alliance, building on oneworld’s position as the first choice airline alliance for frequent international travelers within South America and worldwide.

LAN Colombia was welcomed into oneworld at a ceremony this morning at its Bogota base hosted by LAN Colombia’s Chairman Nicolás Cortázar, its Executive Director Hernán Pasman and its Corporate Director Maria Lara, with oneworld CEO Bruce Ashby, flying in from his New York base, LATAM Vice-President Strategic Alliances Soledad Berrios, from LAN Airlines’ Santiago head office, and senior representatives from the other oneworld airlines serving Colombia, led by American Airlines Managing Director Alliances Latin America Eduardo Marcos, from its Dallas-Fort Worth head office, and Iberia Country Manager María Consuelo Sánchez.

LAN Colombia’s Chairman, Nicolás Cortázar, said: “LAN Colombia is very proud to have joined oneworld. For our company, it represents a significant milestone. For our country, it significantly improves our access to the rest of the world, helping attract more business visitors and tourists, enabling Colombians to reach more of the world’s most important business centres worldwide and making it easier to travel the world from any of the destinations we serve throughout Colombia.”

Since its launch in December 2011, LAN Colombia has quickly established itself as the second biggest airline in South America’s second largest economy. In total, it serves 24 airports in four countries with a fleet of 24 aircraft operating 130 departures a day. It boarded 3.7 million passengers in 2012.

TAM Airlines (TAM Linhas Aereas) (Sao Paulo), a company related to LATAM Airlines Group, will join oneworld® with effect from March 31, 2014, adding the leading carrier in Brazil – Latin America’s biggest economy and largest market for air travel demand – to the world’s leading quality global airline alliance.

TAM’s entry into oneworld with effect from the first flights on March 31, 2014 will follow immediately upon its exit from the Star Alliance with effect from the final flights on March 30, 2014.

TAM serves 60 destinations in 16 countries in Latin America, the USA and Europe, with a fleet of 161 aircraft operating 800 departures daily. It boarded 38 million passengers in 2012.

Three of oneworld’s existing members – American, Iberia and LAN – already serve three destinations in Colombia, in Bogota, Cali and Medellin. LAN Colombia expands that to a total of 21 Colombian gateways.

Across South America, oneworld’s established member airlines already serve 71 destinations in 11 countries. LAN Colombia and TAM add another 56 airports in the region to that network – with LAN Colombia bringing 18 airports on board and TAM.

Worldwide, with LAN Colombia, TAM and the other airlines lining up to join, oneworld will:

Serve almost a thousand airports in more than 150 countries, with 14,000 daily departures.
Carry 480 million passengers a year on a combined fleet of more than 3,200 aircraft.
Generate US$ 140 billion annual revenues.

The addition of LAN Colombia and TAM from March 31, 2014 represents a cornerstone of oneworld’s biggest membership expansion yet. Other elements elsewhere in the world include:

The addition of Malaysia Airlines, one of this industry’s most frequent award winners, six months ago, further strengthening oneworld’s position in South East Asia, one of the fastest growing regions for air travel demand.
The induction on October 30, 2013 of Qatar Airways, the only one of the “Gulf Big Three” carriers slated to join any of the global airline alliances and one of the world’s fastest growing and most highly rated airlines. This will make oneworld the leading alliance in the Middle East, one of the world’s fastest growing regions for air travel demand.
The introduction early next year of SriLankan Airlines, as the first airline from the Indian subcontinent to join any global alliance, which, with Qatar Airways, will make oneworld the leading alliance in the region.
The proposed switch by US Airways from Star to oneworld as part of its planned merger with American Airlines, subject to necessary approvals.

Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough/AirlinersGallery.com. LAN Colombia’ Airbus A320-233 CC-CQN (msn 3319) prepares to land at Miami.

Qatar Airways to join Oneworld on October 30

Qatar Airways (Doha) will become a full member of oneworld® on October 30, 2013, adding one of the world’s fastest growing and most highly rated airlines to the world’s leading quality airline alliance, according to the airline and the alliance.

One of just seven carriers worldwide rated five-star by the Skytrax airline quality agency and the organization’s Airline of the Year 2011 and 2012 and runner-up 2013, Qatar Airways is the only one of the “Gulf Big Three” carriers slated to join any of the global airline alliances.

Qatar Airways received clearance to board oneworld after successfully completing a thorough review of its readiness, conducted by British Airways, which is sponsoring Qatar Airways’ entry into the alliance, with oneworld’s central team.

Qatar Airways completes its oneworld implementation program just one year after receiving its invitation to join, announced at a press conference in the alliance’s New York home in October 2012. This will make its induction into oneworld one of the fastest in the alliance’s history. Normally it takes around 18 months for any airline to be readied to enter any alliance.

Qatar Airways’ addition to oneworld will come shortly before the airline moves into its new home base, Hamad International Airport, which has been designed to strengthen Doha’s position as a premium global hub, with an eventual capacity for 50 million passengers a year.

From its first flights on October 30, Qatar Airways will offer oneworld’s full range of services and benefits.

Also from October 30, the 130 million members of the established oneworld airlines’ frequent flyer programs will be able to earn and redeem awards and tier status points and receive all other oneworld benefits on Qatar Airways.

Qatar Airways is already participating in Global Explorer, the round-the-world fare offered by all oneworld members and various airlines that are not part of the alliance. When it becomes part of oneworld, Qatar Airways’ network – serving 130 destinations in 70 countries across the Middle East, Europe, Africa, North and South America, Asia and Australasia – will be covered by the full and extensive range of oneworld fare and sales products.

More than 20 of its destinations and five countries – Ethiopia, Iran, Rwanda, Serbia and Tanzania – will be new to the oneworld map. More significantly, Qatar Airways will substantially strengthen the alliance’s customer offering by providing superior routing alternatives across many hundreds of city pairs. For example, passengers flying between Asia and Southern Europe or between Asia and Africa will now have convenient one-stop connections not previously available within the oneworld network.

Its implementation, making oneworld the leading alliance in the Middle East region, comes as the group undergoes the biggest expansion in its history with:
• The addition of Malaysia Airlines, one of this industry’s most frequent award winners, six months ago, further strengthening oneworld’s position in South East Asia, one of the fastest growing regions for air travel demand.
• The switch in the second quarter of next year to oneworld from the Star Alliance by TAM, the leading airline in Latin America’s leading economy, Brazil, along with its Paraguayan affiliate, following the addition to oneworld on 1 October 2013 of the newest member of the LAN group, LAN Colombia, solidifying oneworld’s position as the leading alliance in Latin America.
• The introduction early next year of SriLankan Airlines, as the first airline from the Indian subcontinent to join any global alliance, which, with Qatar Airways, will make oneworld the leading alliance in the region.

In addition, US Airways proposes to switch from Star to oneworld as part of its planned merger with American Airlines, subject to necessary approvals.

With Qatar Airways and the other airlines lining up to join, oneworld will:
• Serve almost a thousand airports in more than 150 countries, with 14,000 daily departures.
• Carry 480 million passengers a year on a combined fleet of almost 3,500 aircraft.
• Generate US$ 140 billion annual revenues

Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said: “In Qatar Airways’ relatively short history, we have quickly established a reputation for innovation, quality and excellence in everything we do. We are pleased to build on that by becoming the only major airline from the Gulf to date to be joining any of the global airline alliances. We are proud to entering the best of them, in oneworld – and to be doing so in record quick time. We very much look forward to flying alongside some of the best airlines in the world from 30 October, bringing the heightened benefits offered by oneworld to our customers.”

Top Copyright Photo: Bruce Drum/AirlinersGallery.com (all others by Qatar Airways). Airbus A321-231 A7-ADX (msn 3397) climbs away from the runway at the old Doha International Airport. The new replacement Hamad International Airport has been built on reclaimed land adjacent to the old airport.

Qatar Airways: