Plans are underway to restart the airline soon but with a significantly reduced network using only 7 A320s. I guess we should see a restart by July.

As for OW's slow growth in attracting other carriers, we should take note that OW has much stricter criteria for prospective airlines and is the most consistent in what their airline's provide.

Perhaps , but restarting an airline after nearly a year of being grounded does not strike me as having a high likelihood of success , much of the vacuum left by the grounding of MX has been filled in the meantime , and I have to wonder how much use an airline with a fleet of 7 aircraft is likely to be to OW if it actually restarts.

Yes, we are often told this , but to me it sounds like the line from "Spinal Tap" where they claim the reason for that the band plays at smaller venues than everyone else is because "we are being more selective about our audience these days" . Those stricter criteria don't seem to have stopped OW from picking up airlines in terrible financial health such as JL and MX or with poor customer service such as IB , so what exactly is OW stricter about , no one ever seems to be able to answer this ?

Well, arguably OW members are not all the same. Some are financially healthier than others, some have better service for certain customer groups than others. But comparing it with other alliances, the differences are smaller. In Star Alliance, you have carriers like Egyptair and Singapore Airlines under the same roof. The earlier is facing a very difficult time, is completly dry and providing an intercontinental business product which is completely dated even by the lowest standards, and the latter is definitely in the short list for the best carrier ...

On Mexican the PC Capital proposal, the one the government had selected, fell over 2 March and I haven't seen any other international press about a restart. If not dead its pretty terminal.

EgyptAir isn't that bad, all that bashing with the so-called third-world carriers - including Air China is really unjustified. Just look at EgyptAir's New long-haul Business Class, it's far from a 'completely dated' product. Yes, they've still got a long way to go before they get to the standards of SQ, but they're improving.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8n_XMm08E0

I'm not bashing "third-world carriers". Actually many of them are very good, e.g. GA. However, if you get an old EgyptAir 777 on a PEK-CAI flight, you'll definitely be very disappointed.

Great quote. Maybe the criteria is simply a willingness for the airline to claim loudly and often that they are "quality".

LOL. I guess that's why AB is joining?

I've never travelled on Air Berlin so not sure what service and feel is like compared to other OW carriers. What is noticable is the strong corporate identity that it has and how this compliments to strong identity of existing OW carriers.

I flew on AB a few years ago on FRA-TXL. They were better then BA, IB and AA short haul service.

AB have no business class intra Europe, and their long haul buisness class cannot compare to BA and other full service carriers. I do fly AB regulary and although better than easyjet and Ryanair, they are a LCC.
OW-carriers are not generally higher in quality. That is a myth. All three alliances have good and not so good airlines.
*A have more quality airlines than OneWorld and SkyTeam, and I think *A is just as consistent as OW, if not more.

It is interesting that BR is applying to join Star Alliance, as they recently terminated their codeshare YVR-TPE with Air Canada about 18 months ago.

From the Star Alliance side, it does appear that One World is losing the battle (if it is a battle) for global aviation alliances based on the amount of airlines in membership.

From a layman's point of view, OW only seem to be treading water. Over time Canadian Airlines, Mexican and Aer Lingus have left the group or are inactive with only a few more joining. During my time in SE Asia I had to do all my flights on *A carriers.

Most would not disagree except in one key area. OW tends to have better lounges than the other two alliances; OW Emerald will get you into pretty much any lounge most importantly almost all First lounges (with the obvious exception of BA's two CCRs).

Emeralds also are far fewer in number than *G, and consequently there is slightly better treatment in comparison IMHO.

OW will become much better with AB in Europe and IT in Asia.
Big risks however with MX seemingly dead (there doesn't appear to be another capital proposal around) and the LA-JJ merger (presently tied up with Chile antitrust)

Also I think the only alliance left for MH, despite the SQ/MH relationship, and whilst MU would have been the logical China entry, HU can pretty much only go to OW.

On BR, given CXs share on the main HKG-TPE route think OW would have been impossible for them.