SWISS delay in joining OW
 

Was reading the 29-Mar issue of Aviation Week and Space Technology and there was a news blurb about SWISS's entry into Oneworld. Seems to be a disagreement with BA about the FF programs. The new chairman of SWISS hopes to join by the end of 2004. I really wanted to use SWISS for some Oneworld award trips this year. Maybe next year.

BA only wants the profitable Travel Club members and not those with lots of miles on cheap tickets ... it looks like Swiss will have to keep running a separate FF program (which they cannot afford). The subtext is that now that BA has seen the yield data they think there is little profit in flying LX's customer base and might just stretch things out until LX folds (removing the threat of a "better" hub competing with LHR). The irony of Oneworld is that all of their European hubs are at the periphery of Europe (DUB, MAD, HEL and LHR), ZRH would be the first "central" hub and potentially very attractive. One rumor is that BA's terms are simple: LX to stop flying long-haul, and go back to being Crossair (a regional commuter airline, with Eastern Europe as its stomping ground).