INTERNATIONAL. Qatar Airways has become the first major Gulf carrier to join a global alliance after being invited into the oneworld group.
The announcement was made at a press conference on Monday in New York by Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker along with the CEOs of oneworld members American Airlines and IAG, parent of British Airways and Iberia.
Al Baker said: “Qatar Airways is delighted to have been invited to join oneworld, which will provide extensive benefits to our passengers and to oneworld passengers, bringing not only another airline to the alliance, but also a great new travel experience for those who have not flown with Qatar Airways before.”
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Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker, left, with IAG Chief Executive Willie Walsh during the oneworld press conference in New York |
The airline’s network will strengthen oneworld’s customer offer by allowing new routing alternatives across thousands of city pairs, providing one-stop connections not previously available within the oneworld network.
The alliance will coordinate Qatar Airways’ flights, schedules and systems with the operations of other member airlines, to offer passengers improved routings and connections through alliance hubs worldwide.
Members of Qatar Airways’ Privilege Club 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 airport lounges – over 550 of them – as well as take advantage of alliance fares.
Qatar Airways was sponsored by British Airways to join the alliance and will spend the next 12 to 18 months completing the oneworld implementation programme.
Existing oneworld members include airberlin, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, LAN, Qantas, Royal Jordanian and S7 Airlines, and around 20 affiliates, including Austria’s NIKI, American Eagle, Dragonair in China, South American carriers LAN Argentina, LAN Ecuador and LAN Peru.
Malaysia Airlines and SriLankan are due to join the alliance over the next few months.
Qatar Airways’ route network spans oneworld hubs Amman, Berlin Tegel, Buenos Aires Ezeiza, Hong Kong, London Heathrow, Madrid, Melbourne, Moscow Domodedovo, New York John F. Kennedy, Osaka Kansai, Sydney, Tokyo Narita, and the Kuala Lumpur home of oneworld member-elect Malaysia Airlines.
Since the beginning of 2012, Qatar Airways has launched flights to Baku (Azerbaijan); Tbilisi (Georgia); Kigali (Rwanda); Zagreb (Croatia), Erbil (Iraq), Baghdad (Iraq), Perth (Australia), Kilimanjaro (Tanzania), and last week Yangon (Myanmar). Further destinations will be added over the coming months, including Maputo; Mozambique; Belgrade, Serbia’ Warsaw, Poland; Gassim, Saudi Arabia; Najaf, Iraq; and Chicago, USA.
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Qatar Airways cabin crew pose at the press conference in New York |
