Kingfisher was announced July 2010, date set for Feb 2012, before Kingfisher imploded.

Malaysian announced June 2011, still yet to join but rumored for Nov 2012.

So 18 months a fair assumption.

Is good to see Cathay sponsoring someone.

Would be better to see Cathay sponsoring Air China and Jet Airways/Indigo!!

Looks like Mexicana will be back and all their slots will be returned

Where do you read this??
AeroMexico seems to be filling the holes
http://www.4-traders.com/GRUPO-AEROMEXICO-SA-DE-C-10053429/news/Mexican-Airline-Aeromexico-Orders-$11-Billion-in-Boeing-Planes-14431198/

Do you have a source?

I've certainly seen no indication that Air China has any intention to move from Star Alliance. With Shenzhen airlines soon going to Star also and CZ and MH already in Skyteam, MF (Xiamen Airlines) going to Skyteam soon, Oneworld was way slow to the punch in Mainland China... still there is one worthwhile scrap that could be picked up. I know there has already been a lot of discussion about Hainan Airlines which is quite good, but CX has their beef with them over HX. Not much left over in China that flies internationally.

MH is joining OW
perhaps you meant MU?

Indeed, that should have been MU (China Eastern)

As someone who is BA G and living in Moscow, having Shri Lankan in OW will make a big difference, as they hub via Dubai and offer some cracking Business Class Deals to SEA. 750 Euro's at Christmas Time DME-BKK in C... Gotta love that and the Tier Points :) 140 x 4

My wife and I flew Sri Lankan last year in business class back and forth between Colombo and Male (Maldives). Flight was short and certainly adequate. Old-style J seats, decent service. But it was a very good price (I forget the details, but perhaps $500 RT each, as opposed to about $350 for economy???), so for the flights themselves we got more than what we paid for and came away quite satisfied. One of the benefits of it joining OW will clearly be for OW passengers looking to book all the way to the Maldives from or via other Asian locations.

However, dealing with the airline beforehand was a real pain. Received an email telling me that we had to switch from one of our flights to another (which would have been very inconvenient) because they had overbooked. I could not deal with the reservation online, so had to call Colombo and was able to refuse the change. The one competent supervisor I reached there advised me to check in as early as possible to avoid getting downgraded. So we did check in early and had no problem, but at the Colombo airport it seemed that the downgrade happened to another couple who were taken by surprise and treated rather rudely by the airline's agent there.

Actually, the above mini-saga was a bit more complicated and confusing, and more of a hassle than I've summarized, but the above provides the gist of it.

It also seems that the airline is prone to changing its schedule and sometimes running late (though not outright cancellations). I hope that joining OW will improve its operations in all of these regards.

Good that UL will join OW.

I recently discovered excellent connections into/out of Australia and both involve UL. In addition, I tried the BA connection into/out of SIN and then the UL connection into/out of SIN. It worked, AND it was very cost effective as compared to any other OW or *A flights done in the past.

With UL in Business class, and the BA in economy, the combo was MUCH more comfortable and cost effective, than say the CX situation I tried last year. Yes, I got some BA Avios points with CX, BUT I got max points with BA into/out of SIN. Then with my baggage allowance (from BAEC Silver and UL's business class), I got MORE baggage allowance than the (comparative) paultry CX or SQ allowances.

In addition, I broke up my trip into 3 sectors with 3 lounges in each direction. The UL lounge in Colombo has an excellent ayurvedic massage that is free for 15 minutes. Then of course the attendants personally brew your tea/coffee. THAT does not happen anywhere on BA - I say that as I sit scribbling this at T5. Food is food, but on the UL sectors, they personally serve you your choice of 3 different entrees...

Yes, the UL bus class seats leave something to be desired - as compared to BA seating. However, the longest sector was about 4 hours, and as a non-BA economy flier for 43 years I say: "So what, the servixce makes up for it, AND so does cost effectiveness".

I await UL entry into OW and getting the TPs and the Avios miles. Amen :D

Anyone have any updated news on when UL will officially become a full member?

Recently took a UL flight from KUL-CMB. I have to say that the J service was really good despite having only two pax. The food was tasty but a little bit dry and the service made up for the ageing hard product.

However, I felt that their A320 layout was far more spacious with wider and softer seats than MH's new 738.

Doubted UL before but now I might just choose UL for my KUL-CMB flights. Still earn miles with Enrich but just not status (yet).^

Mostly like to be in the second half of 2013. Possible from now on another 10-12 months.

UL and QR are likely to become full member in the same period of time as QR is going to pushing the process. So the earliest would be first half of October.

QR won't be coming on line till 2014 !

They won't do soon when the new C seat is flying to LHR. I doubt this will take more than a few months ^