Dear FTers,

First things first – apologies for the break in service, for reasons that I will not bore you with here… Suffice it to say that oneworld4u is still on board and ready to resume dialogue with you folks, our valued customers.

Without further ado, let me respond to some of the outstanding queries/issues posted since my last response, in reverse chronological order (ie the latest first)…..

tylord: oneworld Chairman Gerard Arpey (Chairman and CEO of American Airlines) spoke about oneworld’s airline recruitment strategy at our 10th birthday media event in Madrid at the beginning of February. I reproduce the relevant sections here as I think it may be of interest to many who follow oneworld at FT:

“For ten years, we have worked hard to differentiate oneworld, primarily, by the quality, rather than the quantity, of our members – and I’m proud to say our members represent the strongest airline brand names in the world. By concentrating on quality, we assure ourselves, and our customers, a consistent standard across the entire global network.

“Our focus on quality has paid dividends, so as you would expect, we have been, and will remain, very selective about which airlines we regard as potential recruits.

“First, we have only considered carriers with brands that are consistent with those of our established partners – which we believe represent the best and highest quality airlines from each region of the world. Second, we are only interested in working with airlines who share our commitment to safety, customer service and profitability. Third, in looking at potential recruits, we look for ways to expand our network, rather than simply duplicating what our existing members already offer.

“So as we welcome Mexicana and contemplate the future, there are just a few strategic regions of the world where we believe we could benefit from new members. These include, over time, Mainland China, India, Russia and Brazil. Beyond those regions, we see relatively little opportunity for expanding our roster without diluting the quality we offer our customers, or the value the alliance creates for its existing members.

“Quite frankly, our approach differs from that of other alliances, but we are convinced it is the approach that works best for our customers, employees and shareholders. And I think our experience over the last ten years bears that out.”

So, as you will see from the above, Mainland China is one of the few regions in the world where oneworld would like to add a new member airline. But, as KiwiFlyer, rightly points out, we will not be in a position to provide any updates on progress here, for reasons of commercial confidentiality, until we are able to announce that a carrier has been invited on board.

Mindz: The 10 per cent offer to celebrate oneworld’s 10th birthday applies to all our alliance fares – including Visit passes. Make your booking fast, as the offer only has a few more weeks to run. See oneworld.com/10years for full details.

Serfty and Pandaperth: Thanks for your comments on the positioning of the Galapagos and some Caribbean islands on your map. I’ll have the team responsible look into this…

OzinUK: If you want to send an email to my private FT inbox, I’ll have our sales folk responsible for Switzerland contact you to answer all queries you have on businessflyer.

FedUp2, wandering_fred, revkev7 and others: oneworld services and benefits only apply on flights both operated and marketed by airlines that are oneworld members. Tier status points are only awarded for flights both operated and marketed by oneworld member airlines, but some individual airlines within oneworld do offer special mileage awards bonuses and benefits for flying on various code-share operations. Best way to check these things out is directly with the airline whose frequent flyer programme you are a member of.

MX is expected to become a full member of oneworld later this year. Full oneworld services and benefits will be extended to it then. Meantime, it is already participating in the Global Explorer round-the-world fare, which features all oneworld carriers plus some other airlines that are not part of the alliance.


Now we are back in harness, can I make some general observations about FT etc:

First, as I said right at the outset when I joined the forum, we’ve kept a close eye on FT for many years and have come to recognize FTers as some of the most insightful and knowledgeable folks in the industry. We appreciate your custom and your feedback. None of that has changed.

Second, a reminder that there are some issues on which I/we cannot comment in this forum – mainly rumour or speculation – for reasons of commercial confidentiality.

Third, this is not an alternative channel to our airlines’ regular FFP and sales outlets. Please use those regular channels for customer service/sales issues.

Happy and safe flying,

oneworld4u