T.A.Music

Only sponsors, right?

Marco Polo

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/...china-southern

mihaid

Dr. HFH

christep

Works for me

stimpy

I had the thought that this would be part of an excuse for QR to leave OWE.

iFlyMIA

Qatar's threat to leave OneWorld is nothing more than that. It's just to scare.

To me, this is just making it obvious that China Southern will be the next OneWorld member.

Im a new user

Another hint is this recent press release about an AY/CZ codeshare deal.

allset2travel

Thanks for the link. Interesting read (after I solicited gl translate)! For those who don't mind reading the gl translated transcript, here it is:

{China Southern Airlines develops code sharing cooperationOn December 19th, China Southern Airlines ("China Southern Airlines", the same below) and Finnair ("Finnish Airlines", the same below) signed a memorandum of understanding on strategic cooperation in Guangzhou, and will be approved by the regulatory authorities. Code sharing cooperation. The two sides aim to establish a comprehensive, balanced and long-term strategic partnership, strengthen business cooperation, and improve operational coordination so as to jointly improve service quality and enhance airline competitiveness. This is the first time that China Southern Airlines has signed a memorandum of understanding on strategic cooperation with Nordic airlines, which means that China Southern will further fill the gap in the Nordic route network. The two sides plan to formally carry out code sharing cooperation from April 22, 2019, after obtaining the approval of the relevant Civil Aviation Administration. Through the docking of the two routes, China Southern's passengers can be transferred to Helsinki to 15 European cities such as Copenhagen and Stockholm. Finnish passengers can transfer to Guangzhou, Nanjing and other 8 Chinese cities, including Sydney and Auckland. city. The transit process is convenient and smooth, and passengers can enjoy the one-vote and seamless ground service. The two sides will meet the growing travel needs of passengers through resource sharing and provide passengers with more travel options. The two sides will continue to look for opportunities together, strengthen cooperation in frequent flyers and lounges, provide more high-end services to passengers and improve the travel experience. Mr. Zhang Lin, Assistant General Manager of China Southern Airlines Group, said that the agreement reached between the two parties is extraordinary. "We are very happy to cooperate with Finnair. Helsinki is a city where classical beauty and modern civilization are integrated. The signing of this agreement has made our passengers We are very pleased to be able to visit this beautiful land in northern Europe. China and Finland are actively building a new type of partnership for the future. The cooperation between the two sides is in line with the frequent and close communication needs between China and Finland, and further expands the politics of the two countries. Exchanges and developments in various fields such as economy, trade, culture, etc. This is a market- and passenger-oriented, mutually beneficial and open-minded cooperation, and is an important milestone in the history of China Southern Airlines' establishment of new international relations." Mr. Christian, General Manager of Finnair Network Capacity Department, said, “We are very pleased to establish a partnership with China Southern Airlines. The scale of China Southern’s network has left us a deep impression on China Southern’s efficient Guangzhou hub and high-quality services for our Passengers provide convenient and comfortable opportunities to travel to China, Australia and New Zealand. We look forward to further deepening our cooperation in the future to provide more convenience for our passengers."}

Ausriver

moa999

Wouldn't assume anything until its announced.
They could just as easily decide to stay unaligned.
In any event I don't think anything will happen until the end of 2019 when the have fully left skyteam.

But if they were to join oneworld you'd think they would need a third Emerald equivalent tier.. likely Platinum given they currently use Silver and Gold.

IADCAflyer

Whats the latest on Air Italy? They're setting up operations to fly to three USA cities - JFK, MIA, ORD and LAX - which happen to be AA hubs.... In addition to SFO...

They're also code sharing with BA, IB, S7, and QR.

Im a new user

They're owned to 49% by QR and QR has been talking about leaving Oneworld, but on the other hand, that talk about leaving could just be a trick where they seek to get better benefits.

N830MH

No, you won't change FF program. Stay where you are. You can earned miles on any OW partners.

JAXBA

I think Ausriver was asking if CZ would need to change the design of their own programme for it to fit oneworld [if they join of course]- not if an individual should change from CZ to another programme.