any ideas?
i heard that the portugal airlines that
Iberia just started code-sharing might be
next. why isn't JAL in OW when both AA and
Asia Miles can accumulate points on JAL
flights? (i'm not sure for BA or Qantas
though.)

South African Airlines would be an ideal partner - don't think they will be next though.

Dave

You can earn BA and QF miles from flights on JL. I think AA/CX/BA/QF and JL all use the same award inventory booking classes. Harmonization might not be that difficult.

JL is also a very close partner with TG and AF.

JAL has been actively shopping for alliance membership, but has wanted too much. The CEO of JAL has been quoted as saying that the time has come for JAL to join an alliance. Given the Star and Skyteam composition it seems impossible for JAL to join anything but Oneworld now. In the past JAL was so strong and so desirable that it could ask the world, now I am not so sure. Oneworld desperately needs coverage for China (of course Dragonair could do this, and that seems a lot more likely after the Taiwan deal).

JAL Cargo just recently got into a cargo alliance with Lufthansa Cargo too

what about swiss?

I dont think SAA would be a great help for OW.
BA has good coverage in Africa + Commair in SA

And if QF buys 20% of NZ as is rumoured, where does that leave NZ with respect to *A vs OW?

No impact, still with Star. And QF has already said it would "co-ordinate" with AirNZ on routes except for trans-Pacific (where presumably they will "compete" and it is Star that will "co-ordinate"). The interesting twist is the Australian gov't throwing open the legislative change to allow more foreign (and airline) ownership of QF (rather smacks of being part of the deal with the NZ gov't). In any case let's not lose sight of the fact that all these machinations are designed for one thing: to compete with SQ and keep it out of the Aust/NZ market.

I hope they add someone, and I hope the airline they add offers a quality level higher than Iberia. Swiss/crossair would be nice, but I guess if it hasn't happened by now, never will? Probably British air vetoing the move? Wish I could take One World to Thessaloniki.

Forget SAA, they stopped code sharing with AA a few years ago in favor of DL and will likely join the Skyteam if anything.

The recent move of JAL to cooperate with its new cargo partners I think is not an indication that they are looking at the Star alliance, but rather an indication that they intend on remaining independant for some time to come.

I would bet a lot of money that Swiss will become a Oneworld partner in the future. I think once things settle down in the industry a little more and Swiss has established itself better (financially) the time will come. With all the pressure that AA is putting on establishing new code shares, it's going to be very hard for BA to block them. Besides, Oneworld needs a central european carrier and Swiss has the added advantage of adding a significant number of new routes to the system.

4. TAP ? Maybe, but will be like Aer Lingus. If your not flying there, why fly them?

5. Also look for the Chinese players to venture into alliances sometime in the next few years.

6. Turkish Airways, Air India, and TAM all have nice little niches that would complement Oneworld.

7. Emirates would be a dream come true!


[This message has been edited by crAAzy (edited 07-31-2002).]

if any chinese carrier does join
i guess China Eastern would be most likely.
it code-shares with AA.
you can earn miles with it on Asia Miles.
not sure if BA or Qantas has any ties
with it though