The global airline alliance oneworld is going to offer its passengers and members even more options. On the day of the 20th anniversary of its launch, the leaders of the oneworld member airlines discussed the upcoming substantial changes at a meeting in London.
“Over the course of the two decades since oneworld was launched, the industry and consumer behavior have changed dramatically. Our member airlines have changed as well. Some have merged. When the alliance was created, hardly any airline offered online booking. Smartphones were in the future. Social media did not exist. Airline fares were fixed and included everything. Low-cost carriers were in their infancy,” — said oneworld CEO Rob Gurney. “During this time, global alliances have significantly grown their membership but, to be frank, they have failed to keep pace with the changes that their members and the aviation market at large have experienced. As we enter our third decade, we are launching a radical transformation, presenting fresh initiatives that will allow us to strengthen the advantages of the alliance and to keep them relevant.”
During this year, the alliance is planning activities aimed at developing services for passengers. In particular, new spacious extra comfortable oneworld lounges offering passengers a wide range of services will open at key airport.
New features have been developed for more effective work with corporate clients. Dozens of major international corporations have signed contracts with the alliance, which is more convenient than making individual airline deals. Currently, the total revenue from oneworld’s corporate accounts is US$1 billion a year, and it has grown by 10 percent since the testing of the new process.
The Alliance will continue attracting new members and developing its route network. In 2020, Royal Air Maroc, the first airline based on the African continent — the only major region where the alliance had no partner — will join oneworld. As part of the new oneworld connect platform, designed with small, regional carriers in mind, Fiji Airways will become a partner of the alliance by the end of March. This will increase the route network of the alliance to 1,100 destinations in 180 countries of the world. Currently, negotiations about signing similar agreements with other airlines from America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region are underway.
All these changes are reflected in the new brand platform of the alliance, which positions oneworld as a fresh, modern and informative, reflecting the diversity of its member airlines and their passengers, with the “Travel bright” slogan. On February 1st, the day of the 20th anniversary, the alliance’s updated website reflecting the new branding was unveiled.
oneworld Governing Board Chairman and Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce noted: “Qantas was one of the airlines that founded oneworld 20 years ago, and we’ve witnessed how it has evolved into the leading airline alliance. In some ways, oneworld represents a team of rivals, considering the fact that several members are direct competitors in a number of regions. Over the course of the two decades it has been able to bring together the best carriers, extra comfortable lounges, frequent flyer programs and route networks offering passengers an enjoyable travel experience. We continue developing this cooperation to make oneworld even more relevant to international travelers and to its member airlines.”
“We congratulate our partners on the 20th anniversary. S7 Airlines has been a member of oneworld since 2010, and we see more and more benefits from this partnership both in terms of new opportunities for our passengers and in business processes. Together with our partners, we can offer flights to essentially anywhere in the world. And we are confident that our passengers can always count on the same level of service that meets the high requirements of oneworld. Cooperation within the framework of the alliance allows us not to stand still, but to offer passengers more new services and travel destinations,” — noted S7 Chief Executive Vladimir Obyedkov.
oneworld was founded on February 1, 1999 by American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways and Qantas. Later they were joined by Finnair and Iberia on September 1st, 1999; then LATAM (at that time LanChile) on June 1st, 2000; Japan Airlines and Royal Jordanian on April 1st, 2007; S7 Airlines on November 15th, 2010; Malaysia Airlines on February 1st, 2013; Qatar Airways on October 30th, 2013 and Sri Lankan on May 1st, 2014. Royal Air Maroc was invited to the alliance in December and plans to become a full member of the alliance in 2020. About 30 airlines joined as affiliated members of the alliance. Fiji Airways was introduced as the first partner of oneworld connect in December 2018. The airline will offer some of the services and benefits of the alliance.
Together, these airlines fly to 1,100 airports in 180 countries, performing 14,000 flights daily. They carry about 550 million passengers per year with a combined fleet of 3,500 aircraft. The total annual revenue is US$135 billion. Since the launch of the oneworld alliance, its members have carried a total of 7 billion passengers, a number comparable to the population of the entire planet.
oneworld members work together to create the conditions for top-class travel, with special privileges for frequent flyers. Traveling with all the airlines of the alliance, passengers can accumulate miles and book award tickets. Emerald and Sapphire status holders have access to more than 650 extra comfortable lounges at airports around the world and enjoy increased baggage allowance. Passengers with Emerald cards can also use the fast track airport transfer service at a number of airports.
oneworld has received more “best airline alliance” awards than any of its competitors.