ONEWORLD° | General News & Discussion

[dreamery]

Maybe this points into the future:

TAP Portugal said its privatization process could start next year. CEO Fernando Pinto stated at the ALTA meeting in Panama City that privatizing the carrier "is part of a [government] plan and this process could start in 2011."

In order to privatize, an outside strategic investor may be necessary. Asked if TAM/LAN Airlines prospective parent company LATAM Airlines Group may have an interest in investing in TAP Portugal, TAM President Libano Miranda Barroso said that after the merger is completed, "we are open for everything. Nothing is impossible."

LATAM takes over TAP (the names would match very well, haha, TAM TAP and LAN) and decides for one alliance afterwards. I think there would be a great chance for Oneworld in this case?

TAP Portugal ready for 2011 privatization

[caelus]

http://atwonline.com/airline-finance...-alliance-1209

Oneworld will move to Manhattan; names Bruce Ashby to lead alliance

Oneworld has tapped former SpiceJet and Sama Airlines Chief Executive Bruce Ashby to lead the alliance, which will relocate its headquarters from Vancouver to New York City. Ashby is replacing current Managing Partner John McCullough, who said he is “not in a position to relocate,” citing family reasons.

Ashby spent 16 years at US carriers, rising to the position of Executive VP Marketing at US Airways before leaving in 2005 as that airline was being acquired by America West. Ashby then joined IndiGo as CEO, a position he held until he left the carrier in late 2008 to lead Saudi Arabian LCC Sama Airlines. Sama suspended operations this past August (ATW Daily News, Aug. 24).

The decision to relocate alliance headquarters follows US and EU approval of the transatlantic joint venture between cornerstone partners American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia.

In a statement, oneworld said the move will enable its central alliance team to "keep its finger right on the pulse of the world's single biggest air travel market," noting that New York area airports are used by 110 million passengers a year. Additionally, NYC "is served by more flights by more oneworld member airlines than any other city worldwide, with 10 of the alliance's 14 existing and designate members flying to at least one of its airports."

The 46,200 sq. ft. facility, at 2 Park Ave. in Manhattan also will accommodate the offices of American, British Airways and a number of other oneworld member airlines. McCulloch said the relocation “makes clear sense, even though “personal circumstances prevent me from being part of that future." Besides the 25-strong central oneworld team, up to 210 employees from across the alliance's member airlines will be based there, in a largely "open plan" layout, designed to promote collaboration across the alliance teams. The first of them should make the move by mid-summer 2011, oneworld said.

[Qtya]

Malév's first Oneworld logojet!



The airplane was re-painted in Norwich, England and arrived back in Hungary in the evening hours of 15 May 2011.

[Iggis]

S7 Airlines В-737-800 ONE WORLD


http://jetphotos.net/viewphoto.php?id=7110009&nseq=4

Looks bad in my opinion...

[World 2 World]

Malaysia Airlines joins OneWorld Alliance
TheStar Biz | Updated: Monday June 6, 2011 MYT 11:03:15 AM
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story...4&sec=business
http://travel.usatoday.com/flights/p...s-ceo/173180/1
http://finance.ninemsn.com.au/newsbu...world-alliance

PETALING JAYA: Malaysian Airline System (MAS) will start flying as part of the oneworld alliance starting late next year after the airline was unanimously elected a member designate by the alliance's chief executives at the International Air Transport Association's 2011 World Air Transport Summit.

The summit opened today in Singapore.



Malaysia Airlines' Airbus A380 will start operation in April 2012.


MAS and oneworld in a joint media release Monday said the formal alliance membership agreement would be completed soon with Australia's Qantas to serve as sponsor for MAS' entry.

MAS' membership would allow its customers to gain access to the alliance's global network which would in turn expand the coverage to almost 950 destinations in 150 countries.

This would be served by a combined fleet of more than 2,600 aircraft operating some 10,000 flights a day and carrying 358 million passengers a year.

Besides Qantas, members of the alliance include American Airlines, British Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines.

MAS managing director cum chief executive officer Tengku Datuk Seri Azmil Aziz said the decision to join the alliance was made after carefully considering the options available.

“The time is clearly right for our company to join one of the global airline groups, and oneworld is clearly the best option for us,” he added.

Additionally, the oneworld move could result in a partner shake-up for Malaysia Airlines, which currently is partnered with a number of other carriers. They include some that are key members of other alliances, such as Air France/KLM and Delta of SkyTeam and Swiss International Airlines of Star.

On that subject, the Business Times of Malaysia says it asked CEO Azmil specifically about whether Malaysia Airlines would continue its relationship with Air France/KLM.

"There is no rule that members can't cooperate with non-oneworld members," he responded. "Overall our entry into oneworld changes the game and it will necessitate a review (of its operations). This does not mean that we will stop doing anything with KLM. We have had a long standing relationship with them and we understand each other really well."

He said being part of oneworld did not preclude MAS, which flies to five Australian mainland capitals, from maintaining existing relationships with other airlines such as the frequent flyer association with Virgin Australia's Velocity.

IATA said on Monday the picture for the industry was brightest in the Asia Pacific, which included emerging aviation giants China and India.

The industry body's latest forecasts showed Asia Pacific carriers - which include Qantas, Virgin Australia and Air New Zealand - were expected to report profits totalling $US2.1 billion ($A1.96 billion) in 2011.

Although this represented the most profitable geographic region in the world, it was still well down from the $US10 billion ($A9.31 billion) profit Asia-Pacific airlines posted in 2010, IATA said.

IATA, which represents about 230 airlines, also sharply downgraded its 2011 profit forecasts for the global aviation industry, citing the effects of political unrest, natural disasters and high fuel prices.

Airlines were tipped to post after-tax profits of $US4 billion ($A3.73 billion) in calendar 2011, less than half the IATA's previous forecast of $US8.6 billion ($A8.01 billion) in March.

As for oneworld, it is also expected to welcome Germany's Air Berlin and India's Kingfisher Airlines in early 2012.

[Iggis]

Wow, for many years Skyteam supposed to be their home, life changes )

[deasine]

airberlin and oneworld prepare for a shared future



airberlin's preparations to join the oneworld® airline alliance move up a gear today with the launch of a major communications campaign, which sees it become the first recruit in the alliance's history to carry out joint advertising with oneworld to highlight its forthcoming addition to the group.

Posters on display at key airports across Germany from today proclaim "Departure 2012 - airberlin and oneworld take off for a shared future". The aim is to raise awareness in the airline's home market that it will be flying as part of the premier airline alliance from early next year.

The launch of this external campaign comes as oneworld training and internal communications among airberlin's 8,900 employees gets underway, ensuring that they will be able to deliver the alliance's full customer offering from the moment airberlin becomes part of the group early next year.

Its preparations to join oneworld represent one of the biggest projects in airberlin's history. It is being undertaken by 18 work streams covering virtually every aspect of the airline's activities, supported by its oneworld sponsor British Airways and the alliance's central team. The overall project plan shows the airline is right on track to meet its joining schedule.

A date for airberlin's entry into oneworld - along with its Austrian cooperation partner NIKI as a oneworld affiliate member - will be announced in the coming months. oneworld's network includes 900 destinations in 150 countries. When airberlin joins early next year members of topbonus, airberlin's frequent flyer program, will be able to earn and redeem miles and enjoy status benefits on all oneworld partner airlines, including access to 550 airport lounges for top tier members.

airberlin passengers are already enjoying early advantages from the airline's oneworld candidacy with code-share agreements now in place with seven current oneworld members - American Airlines, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia, Malév, S7 and, also from yesterday Royal Jordanian. Further agreements will follow over the next few months.

airberlin's Chief Commercial Officer Paul Gregorowitsch said: "Never before has there been a campaign run jointly by oneworld and a future member of the alliance. Consequently airberlin is particularly delighted to assume this pioneering role. Furthermore, the timing of this campaign could not be better in terms of advertising oneworld in Germany and of allowing passengers to see the benefits they will derive from membership even before the airline has officially joined the airline alliance."

oneworld Vice-President Commercial Stephen Usery added: "With airberlin's German home such a competitive market, we are eager to welcome airberlin flyers into the oneworld family. Our joint campaign is a great way to begin this new relationship."

about airberlin

airberlin is Germany's second largest airline. The company has a workforce of 8,900 employees. In 2010 alone, airberlin received over 10 awards for service and quality. The fleet comprises 168 aircraft with an average age of five years, making it one of the most modern fleets in Europe. The airline's state-of-the-art jets are highly fuel efficient, which contributes toward a long-term reduction in pollution emissions from aircraft. As one of the major European airlines, airberlin flies to 163 destinations in 39 countries. In 2010, the airline carried 33.6 million passengers. airberlin has signed up for membership to the global airline alliance oneworld and is expected to become a full member at the start of 2012. airberlin operates codeshare flights with the oneworld members American Airlines, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia, Malév, Royal Jordanian and S7.

about oneworld

oneworld is the world's premier global airline alliance. It brings together some of the best and biggest names in the airline business - American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, LAN, Malév Hungarian Airlines, Mexicana, Qantas, Royal Jordanian and S7 Airlines, and around 20 affiliates including American Eagle, Dragonair, LAN Argentina, LAN Ecuador and LAN Peru. airberlin, India's Kingfisher Airlines and Malaysia Airlines are on track to join in 2012. Between them, these airlines:

Serve some 900 airports in nearly 150 countries, with more than 10,000 daily departures.
Offer 550 airport lounges for premium customers.
Carry a million passengers a day on a combined fleet of more than 2,500 aircraft.
Generate more than US$ 100 billion annual revenues in total.
oneworld enables its members to offer their customers more services and benefits than any airline can provide on its own. These include a broader route network, opportunities to earn and redeem frequent flyer miles and points across the combined oneworld network and more airport lounges. oneworld also offers more alliance fares than any of its competitors.

oneworld was named the Best Airline Alliance by Global Traveler in its GT Tested Reader Survey 2010 Awards and the World's Leading Airline Alliance in the 2010 World Travel Awards, retaining that title for the eighth year running.

(Oneworld, 2011)

[Blackraven]

I do hope there will at least be one airline that has lifetime membership for the top end of their frequent flier program.......since the other airline alliances have at least one (Asian Airlines for Star Alliance and Korean Air for Skyteam)

[deasine]

Originally Posted by Blackraven

I do hope there will at least be one airline that has lifetime membership for the top end of their frequent flier program.......since the other airline alliances have at least one (Asian Airlines for Star Alliance and Korean Air for Skyteam)

AA has lifetime membership, in fact, they actually HAD (notice the emphasis) one of the easiest ones to obtain because they included AA credit card spendings as part of the million-mile lifetime membership requirement. Though now, this was recently scaled back.

[Blackraven]

Originally Posted by deasine

AA has lifetime membership, in fact, they actually HAD (notice the emphasis) one of the easiest ones to obtain because they included AA credit card spendings as part of the million-mile lifetime membership requirement. Though now, this was recently scaled back.

Now that you mention it, I did some searching and I saw this list.

http://boardingarea.com/blogs/theglo...irline-status/

So if the list is accurate, then it means that from the oneworld carriers, only Qantas and American Airlines offer lifetime memberships (i.e. no need to renew, no demotion if you don't fly, etc.).

But the comments mentioned that there is no lifetime for the highest possible level tier

But at the very least, any lifetime membership automatically gets you to oneworld sapphire.

I still wish though that Cathay Pacific (CX) would offer lifetime membership

Hmm.......
Can you use Asia Miles for Qantas and/or AA?

[hkskyline]

Originally Posted by Blackraven

N
Can you use Asia Miles for Qantas and/or AA?

Yes, Asia Miles can be used for Oneworld partner flights, in addition to Air China as well (and a few other non-OW airlines I believe).

[deasine]

Malev, Kingfisher: troubled times for Oneworld

BY LUC CITRINOT, ETN | FEB 03, 2012
BUDAPEST/GENEVA (eTN) - Global air alliance, Oneworld, is entering turbulent times, as two of its members are in dire straits. Hungarian carrier, Malev, has been facing difficult times for a couple of years due to heavy competition from low-cost carriers in its home market of Budapest. Over the last years, the Hungarian national carrier received various financial aid from the government, up to HUF100 billion (€343 million). However, state subsidies are deemed illegal by the European Union, and Malev was summoned to pay back those aids.

On Friday morning, Malev surprisingly suspended all its operations, while Malév CEO Lóránt Limburger published the following statement: “Unfortunately, what we had been most fearing and had done everything to avoid has occurred today. Although there was still hope of being able to continue to operate and the trust of passengers was undiminished, as a result of the information published in the past few days, our suppliers lost their trust and from one day to the next, began insisting on advance payments for their services. That accelerated the outflow of money to such an extent, that the situation of the airline became unsustainable."

In December, the Hungarian government still assured the public, as well as Malev management, that it would not let the airline go after rumors circulated about a possible bankruptcy to help create a new national carrier based in Budapest. The government had, however, already rejected investment proposals from Russian and Chinese private investors.

As the state could not, however, bail out Malev anymore, Mr. Limburger's statement indicates that "in the light of those factors, the Board of Directors decided today to stop the operations of the Hungarian national carrier. We apologize to all passengers."

Malev was one of Europe's oldest carriers, with a 66-year-old history. According to OAG data, Malev represented approximately 45 percent of scheduled seat capacity at Budapest airport, with non-stop services to over 50 destinations. The second largest carrier - and from now the largest - is low-cost Hungarian carrier, Wizz Air, with some 13 percent of all seat capacity out of Budapest to 23 destinations.

Malev was a member of Oneworld, which loses an important feeder traffic to Central Europe and the Middle East. And the alliance woes are probably not over, as Kingfisher seems to be close also to bankruptcy.

The Indian carrier was on Friday, February 3, suspended from its clearing house (ICH) due to non-payments of dues to airline members. ICH is a financial mechanism within IATA. The airline's management explained the failure through a technical glitch in its automated system. Even if this is the case, Kingfisher's financial situation seems to be deteriorating rapidly. Last September, information came out that Kingfisher had not paid the taxes that had been deducted from employees’ paychecks as indicated by the Indian Tax Ministry. In October, fuel suppliers started to ask to be paid cash for refueling operations as the carrier already owed them money. In November and December, the carrier started to downsize operations and ground aircraft. Indian Civil Aviation Authorities speak now of revoking Kingfisher's license, as it fears that a financial cash crisis might compromise safety on board.

Oneworld is probably already prepared to lose the Indian carrier, which joined only a year ago. There is, however, a glimpse of hope for the global alliance. AirBerlin (and its subsidiary Niki, based in Vienna) will become the alliance's newest member, replacing Malev in Central Europe. After facing some financial troubles last year, AirBerlin is breathing again. Abu Dhabi-based Etihad is taking over 29.2 percent of AirBerlin's share and promised to secure US$350 million for the acquisition of new aircraft with 5-year financing facilities.

(via eTurbo News)

[way of thinking]

airberlin to be part of oneworld from 20 March - Link

[way of thinking]

Today airberlin will enter the Oneworld Alliance. At 2pm you can follow the press conference in Berlin. Link

Chief Executives from all oneworld member airlines gathered at airberlin’s Berlin home today to welcome on board the alliance’s latest recruit.

Its joining ceremony was the first airline media event at the Berlin Brandenburg Airport, which will be airberlin’s new home base and Europe’s newest hub, when it opens on 3 June 2012.

Those attending were also the first to see any aircraft in front of the new airport terminal – with the first airberlin aircraft adorned with the oneworld alliance livery, an Airbus A330-200, and one of the airline’s Boeing 737-800 making a special visit.

airberlin and its alliance partners will be co-located at Berlin Brandenburg, sharing lounges and many other facilities, to offer customers there the smoothest of connections.

Joining airberlin Chief Executive Officer Hartmut Mehdorn at today’s ceremony were:
• American Airlines Chairman and Chief Executive, and Chairman of the oneworld Governing Board, Tom Horton.
• British Airways Chief Executive Keith Williams.
• Cathay Pacific Airways Chief Executive John Slosar.
• Finnair President and Chief Executive Mika Vehviläinen.
• IAG Chief Executive Willie Walsh.
• Iberia Chief Executive Rafael Sánchez-Lozano.
• Japan Airlines Chairman Masaru Onishi.
• LAN International Chief Executive Damian Scokin.
• Qantas Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce.
• Royal Jordanian Chief Executive Hussein Dabbas.
• S7 Group Chief Executive Vladislav Filev.
• Member elect Malaysia Airlines Chief Executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya.
• oneworld CEO Bruce Ashby.

Also attending were NIKI Managing Directors Christian Lesjak and Otmar Lenz.

[way of thinking]

Today in Berlin AB joining Oneworld

[GTR66]

Picture of the first A330 of Air Berlin in One World Alliance paintjob on Airliners.net

[Maxi_Moscow]

That blue goes bad with red. Ouch.

[deasine]

Revamp of American Expected to Bolster Oneworld
By DANIEL MICHAELS

BERLIN—The bankruptcy reorganization of American Airlines will strengthen the Oneworld global airline alliance to which it belongs, said the chief executive of American's biggest partner.

American's parent, AMR Corp., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in November. The filing came as Oneworld, the smallest of three such airline alliances, was facing problems with several of its members, including Hungary's Malev, which last month ceased operations.

Willie Walsh, chief executive of International Consolidated Airlines Group SA, IAG.LN +1.20% said American's reorganization will yield a more competitive carrier and so boost Oneworld. IAG is the parent company of British Airways and Spain's Iberia.

"Anybody who pursues restructuring does it to make themselves better and more competitive," Mr. Walsh said in an interview here.

AMR Chief Executive Tom Horton said in the same interview that the company's restructuring "is not about shrinkage," but is focused on "renewal and growth."

Their comments came shortly after German carrier Air Berlin AB1.XE -0.84% PLC became Oneworld's eleventh member. Air Berlin is also restructuring to cut costs. In December it sold a stake of almost 30% to Etihad Airways of Abu Dhabi, after facing financial troubles.

Japan Airlines Co., another big Oneworld carrier, is currently concluding a financial reorganization and hopes to re-list its stock on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Chairman Masaru Onishi declined, in an interview, to give a timetable for the re-listing.

Mexicana, another Oneworld member, ceased operations in 2010. Separately, the alliance last month suspended an invitation to India's Kingfisher Airlines Ltd. due to the severe financial troubles facing the carrier.

Mr. Walsh said the troubles reflect the stresses confronting airlines around the world. He said American is doing what is necessary to survive in the highly competitive industry. "We've all restructured, we've just done it in different ways," he said.

Mr. Walsh said that all airlines in Oneworld will ultimately benefit from American's restructuring. "Anything that makes your partner more competitive and stronger makes you stronger," Mr. Walsh said. "The opportunity this presents American, and therefore IAG and its other partners, is fantastic."

Oneworld and its rivals, Star Alliance and SkyTeam, allow airlines from different parts of the world to cooperate in selling tickets on multiple carriers, particularly to business travelers who want easy connections and access to airport lounges globally.

Mr. Walsh has a big stake in seeing American thrive. American in 2010 formed a joint venture to share passengers and jointly market flights across the Atlantic with British Airways and Iberia. If American were to face deeper troubles or leave Oneworld, IAG would be at a major disadvantage against its big European competitors, German giant Deutsche Lufthansa AG, LHA.XE +0.24% which is in Star, and French-Dutch Air France-KLM SA, AF.FR -0.72% which is in SkyTeam.

Oneworld isn't alone in facing troubles among its members. Airlines in both Star and SkyTeam have failed or faced deep financial problems in recent years. Delta Air Lines Inc., DAL +2.36% a founder of SkyTeam, and United Airlines, a founder of Star, have both gone through Chapter 11 reorganization in the past few years. United is a unit of United Continental Holdings Inc. UAL +1.94%

(via Wall Street Journal)

[CxIxMaN]

Malaysia Airlines Well Poised To Join oneworld® Alliance

Subang (21 March 2012): Malaysia Airlines is well poised to become a full member of the oneworld® alliance by end of this year.



Whilst the national carrier is rationalizing its network as part of Business Plan to return to profitability, the entry into oneworld® will considerably enhance its network while providing baseload demand from fellow oneworld® members.



Yesterday (20 March 2012) airberlin, serving 162 destinations in 40 countries with a fleet of 170 aircraft and a workforce of 9,200 employees, became part of oneworld®, adding the second biggest airline in Germany and the sixth biggest in the European continent overall to the world’s premier global airline alliance. Austria’s NIKI, also a member of the airberlin group, joined oneworld® as an affiliate member at the same time.



The Group CEO (GCEO) of Malaysia Airlines, Encik Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, together with key leaders of the member airlines including American Airlines Chairman and Chief Executive, and Chairman of the oneworld® Governing Board, Tom Horton, IAG Chief Executive Willie Walsh and Qantas Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce, as well as oneworld® CEO Bruce Ashby gathered at airberlin’s Berlin home to welcome on board the alliance’s latest recruit.

http://www.facebook.com/notes/malays...68100673230583

[deasine]

SriLankan Airlines to join oneworld alliance
11 June 2012

SriLankan Airlines is to join oneworld®, adding one of Asia's fastest growing airlines to the world's leading quality airline alliance.

Its election as a oneworld member designate was announced as the Chief Executives of the alliance's member airlines gathered for a meeting of the group's Board, on the sidelines of IATA's 2012 World Air Transport Summit, which opens in Beijing today.
SriLankan is expected to be implemented into oneworld late next year, flying alongside some of the biggest and best brands in the airline business. Cathay Pacific will serve as its sponsor in joining oneworld, supporting the airline through its alliance implementation programme.

SriLankan already code-shares with oneworld member designate Malaysia Airlines - and today announced agreement in principle to code-share also with oneworld partners Royal Jordanian and S7 Airlines.

SriLankan Airlines has virtually doubled in size since peace returned to its home country three years ago and plans further substantial expansion to its fleet and network in the next few years.

It now operates a fleet of 21 aircraft and carried 3.5 million passengers last year between its Colombo base and 34 destinations in 22 countries across Asia, Europe and the Middle East, including oneworld hubs Hong Kong, London Heathrow, Kuala Lumpur, Moscow Domodedovo and Tokyo Narita, along with Bangkok and Singapore.
Besides flying as Sri Lanka's flagcarrier, it is also the largest international carrier serving the neighbouring Maldives and with a significant presence also in southern India.
Two established oneworld member airlines currently serve Sri Lanka - Cathay Pacific from its Hong Kong hub daily, and Royal Jordanian from its Amman base three times a week. Its main city Colombo is also on the network of oneworld member elect Malaysia Airlines. Opportunities for increasing the alliance's coverage of the country will be explored as SriLankan prepares to join.

Its addition will bring three new destinations on to the oneworld network, all in southern India - Kochi, Tiruchirapalli and Thiruvananthapuram, expanding oneworld's global coverage to some 850 destinations in more than 150 countries, served by a combined fleet of almost 2,500 aircraft operating some 9,000 flights and carrying almost a million passengers every day, generating annual revenues of more than US$ 100 billion.
When SriLankan becomes part of oneworld, its customers will gain access to this truly global network. The 200,000 members of its FlySmiLes frequent flyer programme will be able to earn and redeem rewards on any of oneworld's other carriers, with top tier members able to use any of the group's 550 plus airport lounges, and its network will be covered by oneworld's market leading range of alliance fares.

At the same time, the 120 million frequent flyer cardholders of oneworld's established airlines will be able to earn and redeem rewards when flying on SriLankan.
SriLankan Airlines Chairman Nishantha Wickremasinghe said: "With the world airline industry increasingly focused on alliances, SriLankan has carried out in-depth analysis of the options open to the airline as we enter this latest phase of our development. oneworld is very clearly the best option for us. Joining the alliance will help put SriLankan more firmly on the global aviation map and vastly improve Sri Lanka's connections with the rest of the world, with all that means for our country's vital tourism industry."

SriLankan Airlines Chief Executive Kapila Chandrasena added: "As an airline highly focused on quality service, we are extremely proud to have been invited to join the highest quality alliance with the best airline partners offering a global network that best complements our own. We look forward to completing all joining requirements as soon as possible."
American Airlines' Chairman and Chief Executive Tom Horton, Chairman of the oneworld Governing Board, said: "Today's agreement with SriLankan Airlines adds even more value for our customers who have made oneworld the first choice airline alliance for the world's frequent international travellers. We look forward to welcoming SriLankan to oneworld."
oneworld CEO Bruce Ashby said: "In SriLankan Airlines, oneworld is pleased to welcome a high-quality airline that will enhance oneworld's network and product offerings in one of the world's fastest growing regions for air travel demand."

Cathay Pacific Chief Executive John Slosar said: "SriLankan Airlines is a fine candidate for oneworld, with its growing reputation for customer service mirroring oneworld's own focus - and with Sri Lanka's economy growing faster than at any other time in the nation's history, the timing is right. Cathay Pacific is delighted to be serving as its sponsor in joining oneworld."

Images and logos
A selection of print-quality images and logos of SriLankan Airlines, oneworld and its existing member airlines can be downloaded from http://www.oneworld.com/news-information/image-gallery/ The SriLankan logo and images are posted there at http://www.oneworld.com/news-informa...bCategoryID=11

About SriLankan Airlines
Tracing its origins back to 1947, SriLankan Airlines today is the flagcarrier airline for Sri Lanka but also the largest international airline serving the Maldives and with a significant presence in southern India too.

Using the airline code UL, it serves 34 destinations in 22 countries from its Colombo hub, carrying 3.5 million passengers in the year to end March 2012. Its fleet of 21 aircraft - seven Airbus A320s, five A330-200s and six A340-300s - has an average age of nine years. The company employs 5,565 staff.
SriLankan Airlines is majority owned by the Sri Lankan government and state-owned institutions.

About oneworld
oneworld aims to be the first choice airline alliance for the world's frequent international travellers. It brings together some of the best and biggest names in the airline business - airberlin, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, LAN, Qantas, Royal Jordanian and S7 Airlines, and around 20 affiliates including Austria's NIKI, American Eagle, Dragonair, LAN Argentina, LAN Ecuador and LAN Peru. Malaysia Airlines is on track to join later in 2012, with SriLankan now to follow in 2013. India's Kingfisher Airlines is also a member elect. Mexicana is an inactive member of the alliance.

oneworld enables its members to offer their customers more services and benefits than any airline can provide on its own. These include a broader route network, opportunities to earn and redeem frequent flyer miles and points across the combined oneworld network and more airport lounges. oneworld also offers more alliance fares than any of its competitors.

oneworld is current holder of more international awards for airline alliances than any of its competitors - named the Best Airline Alliance by Global Traveler in its GT Tested Reader Survey 2011 Awards for the second year running, the World's Leading Airline Alliance in the 2011 World Travel Awards, for the ninth consecutive year, and the Best Airline Alliance 2011 in Australian Business Traveller's debut awards.

(via oneworld)