 oneworld Just Got Bigger
This
month, I have exciting news to share with you about oneworld. As I hope
you know, oneworld is the premier global airline alliance, linking the
American Airlines network to those of British Airways, Cathay Pacific,
Finnair, Iberia, LAN, and Qantas, plus a dozen of their affiliates. The
oneworld Alliance enables American to offer air travelers more
services and benefits than any single airline can provide on its own.
These include a broader route network, opportunities to earn and redeem
AAdvantage miles and points across the expansive oneworld network, and
access to hundreds of airport lounges. Ours is the only global alliance
with a member in South America (LAN) and Australia (Qantas). And for
four years running, oneworld has been voted the World’s Leading Airline
Alliance at the World Travel Awards. But we’re not resting on our
laurels. In fact, we’re taking a major step forward this month as we
welcome our first new members in six years: Japan Airlines, Malév, and
Royal Jordanian, as well as LAN affiliates LAN Argentina and LAN
Ecuador.
Japan Airlines (JAL), which, until now, was the largest
airline in the world not aligned with a multiairline alliance, is the
biggest carrier in the Asia-Pacific region. Its network is a perfect
complement to AA’s service to Japan and to the oneworld network
overall. Along with five of its affiliate airlines, JAL will add nearly
50 destinations in Japan, China, and throughout Asia to the oneworld
network. Connecting to JAL’s services will be a snap, as American and
oneworld partners Cathay Pacific and Finnair recently transferred from
Terminal 1 to Terminal 2 at Tokyo Narita (JAL’s main international
hub), where we now operate alongside JAL and Qantas. For passengers,
this consolidation produces substantially smoother and faster
connections between oneworld carrier flights.
We’re also excited
to welcome Malév Hungarian Airlines, one of the highest-quality
carriers in Central and Eastern Europe, to oneworld. Malév’s Budapest
hub is one of the best in that fast-growing region, and its inclusion
in oneworld will add 10 cities to our global network. We likewise
welcome Royal Jordanian, the first airline from the Middle East to find
a home with any of the global airline alliances. Its base in Amman
provides oneworld with one of the best hubs for traveling around the
world’s fastest growing region for air travel.
The addition of
Japan Airlines, Malév, and Royal Jordanian represents the biggest
expansion of oneworld in its eight-year history, and we’re not stopping
there. Also on April 1, we will welcome two additional Latin American
carriers, LAN Argentina and LAN Ecuador (both affiliates of Chile-based
LAN). And later this year, we will welcome Cathay Pacific affiliate
Dragonair, which has a large network to mainland China from its Hong
Kong base.
With these new members and affiliates onboard, the
oneworld network will have grown to roughly 700 destinations in nearly
150 countries. With a fleet of almost 2,500 aircraft, oneworld carriers
will collectively offer 9,000 departures each day.
What this
means for you, among other things, is a world of new opportunities to
earn and redeem AAdvantage miles. AAdvantage elite member privileges —
such as priority check-in, lounge access, and preboarding privileges —
have been expanded to include our new partners, whose networks will
also be covered by oneworld’s alliance fares and sales products.
Together,
the oneworld carriers are making it easier and more rewarding for you
to get out and see the world — the whole world. If you would like to
learn more about the world’s premier global airline alliance, please
visit www.aa.com/oneworld. In the meantime, wherever in the world
you’re going today, thanks for flying with us. Have a great trip.
Gerard J. Arpey
Chairman & CEO
American Airlines
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