Qatar Airways |
Qatar Airways is to join oneworld®, adding one of the world’s fastest growing and most highly rated airlines to the world’s leading quality airline alliance.
Its election as a oneworld member designate was announced
today at a press conference in New
York – home of oneworld’s central alliance management
office – with senior executives of Qatar Airways and the alliance’s established
member airlines in attendance.
Qatar Airways, named Airline of the Year for the past two
years by the Skytrax independent airline quality rating agency, is the first of
the three major airlines based in the Gulf to sign for any of the global
airline alliances. It is also the second largest full service airline in
the world not, until today, aligned to one of big global airline alliances.
The Doha-based airline’s implementation into oneworld is
expected to take between 12 and 18 months.
The carrier is set to move into a brand new home in 2013
with the opening of the New
Doha International
Airport, designed to
strengthen its position as a premium global hub with an eventual capacity for
50 million passengers a year.
As a member of oneworld, Qatar Airways will fly alongside
some of the biggest and best brands in the airline business. British
Airways will serve as its sponsor in joining oneworld, supported by the central
oneworld alliance team, mentoring the recruit through its alliance
implementation programme.
Qatar Airways will be oneworld’s second member airline based
in the Middle East, alongside Royal Jordanian,
which became the first airline from the region to join any of the global
alliances when it boarded oneworld in 2007.
In just 15 years of operations, Qatar Airways has built up a
solid international route network flying to key business and leisure
destinations worldwide – and winning countless awards for high service levels,
including the Five Star accolade given by Skytrax.
Qatar Airways’ network serves 120 destinations in 70
countries in the Middle East, Europe, Africa, North and South America, Asia and
Australasia, including oneworld hubs Amman, Berlin Tegel, Buenos Aires Ezeiza,
Hong Kong, London Heathrow, Madrid, Melbourne, Moscow Domodedovo, New York JFK,
Osaka Kansai, Sydney, Tokyo Narita, and the Kuala Lumpur home of oneworld
member elect Malaysia Airlines.
Fifteen of its destinations and three countries - Iran, Rwanda
and the Seychelles
- will be new to the oneworld map. More significantly, Qatar Airways will
substantially strengthen oneworld’s customer offering by providing superior
routing alternatives across many hundreds of city pairs. For example,
passengers flying between Asia and Southern Europe or between Asia and Africa will now have convenient one-stop connections not
previously available within the oneworld network.
Qatar Airways operates one of the world's youngest and most modern fleets, currently standing at 111 Boeing and Airbus aircraft with an average age of just four years old.
Its addition will increase oneworld’s global coverage to 856
destinations in 159 countries, served by a combined fleet of 2,600 aircraft
operating more than 9,300 flights and carrying almost a million passengers
every day (342 million a year), generating annual revenues of nearly US$ 120
billion.
Qatar Airways already code-shares with oneworld member
designate Malaysia Airlines. It will develop bilateral links with more
airlines in the alliance as it moves towards becoming a member of the group.
Two established oneworld member airlines currently serve its
Doha home – British Airways from its London hub, and Royal Jordanian from its Amman
base – along with member elect SriLankan, from its Colombo hub. Opportunities for
increasing the alliance’s services to Doha
will be explored as Qatar Airways prepares to join.
When Qatar Airways becomes part of oneworld, its customers
will gain access to the alliance’s truly global network. The 2.2 million
members of its Privilege Club frequent flyer programme will be able to earn and
redeem rewards on any of oneworld’s other carriers, with top tier members able
to use any of the group’s 550 plus airport lounges, and its network will be
covered by oneworld’s market leading range of alliance fares.
At the same time, the 125 million frequent flyer cardholders
of oneworld’s established airlines will be able to earn and redeem rewards when
flying on Qatar Airways and access Qatar Airways’ lounges.
WHAT THE CEOS SAY
Akbar Al Baker |
Among those alongside Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer
Akbar Al Baker at today’s New York press conference to welcome the airline to
oneworld were American Airlines’ Chairman and Chief Executive Tom Horton,
Chairman of the oneworld Governing Board; Chief Executive of IAG, parent of
British Airways and Iberia, Willie Walsh; oneworld CEO Bruce Ashby; and senior
representatives from other oneworld member airlines.
Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said:
“Alliances are playing an increasingly important role in the airline industry
today – and that will continue long into the future. Qatar Airways has
carefully reviewed its strategic options and it is very clear that
joining oneworld is by far the best way forward for us as we look to strengthen
our competitive offering and give passengers what they fully deserve – more
choice. Like Qatar Airways, oneworld is focused on quality and providing
the best connections between the places most important to today’s frequent
international travellers.
“In Qatar Airways’ relatively short history, we have quickly
established a reputation for innovation, quality and excellence in everything
we do, raising standards which our industry peers have watched with envy.
We are pleased to build on that by becoming the only major airline from the
Gulf to date to be invited to join any of the global airline alliances – and we
are proud to have been invited to join the best of them, in oneworld. We
look forward to completing all the joining requirements as soon as possible,
and to fly alongside some of the best airlines in the world long into the
future, bringing heightened benefits offered by oneworld to our customers.”
Tom Horton |
American Airlines’ Chairman and Chief Executive Tom Horton,
Chairman of the oneworld Governing Board, said: “Quality has always been the
hallmark of oneworld, so we are pleased to welcome to our alliance another of
the world’s highest quality airlines. oneworld aims to be the first
choice alliance for frequent international travelers the world over.
Adding Qatar Airways will significantly improve our connectivity between many
of the destinations that are most important to those customers, so today’s
agreement with Qatar Airways will enable us to offer even more value.”
Willie Walsh, Chief Executive of IAG, parent of British Airways
and Iberia,
said: “In Qatar Airways, oneworld is pleased to welcome another great airline
that will enhance oneworld’s network and product offerings in one of the
world’s fastest growing regions for air travel demand. Its fine
reputation for customer service mirrors oneworld’s own focus. British
Airways is delighted to be serving as the sponsor of Qatar Airways in joining
oneworld.”
oneworld CEO Bruce Ashby added: “The big three Gulf carriers
have been embraced by millions of consumers the world over – just as consumers
have embraced global airline alliances. Our own analysis clearly
demonstrated that Qatar Airways is the best fit for oneworld’s network,
requirements, philosophy and strategy. oneworld is delighted to be the
first of the global alliances to welcome a member airline from this region,
enabling us to be the first to offer consumers the services and benefits
offered by both a global alliance and a Gulf carrier. We look forward to
welcoming another great airline to oneworld.
“oneworld’s flexible approach to bilateral cooperation with
carriers outside our alliance means that links already established between our
member airlines with other carriers from this region may continue in tandem
with Qatar Airways’ addition to oneworld, further strengthening the choice and
convenience we collectively offer our customers.”
ABOUT QATAR
AIRWAYS
Qatar Airways was launched in 1997 and quickly established
itself as one of the world’s fastest growing and highest quality
airlines.
Besides being named Skytrax’s Airline of the Year for the
past two years, it is also the organisation’s Best Middle East Airline for the
seventh year running and has retained Skytrax’s Five Star ranking since
2004. Other recent awards won include Business Traveler USA’s Best
Airline for International Travel and Aviation Business’ Airline of the Year
2011.
It boarded 15 million passengers in 2011, generating group
revenues of US$ 6.4 billion.
Qatar Airways, which uses the two-letter code QR, has one of
the world’s youngest fleets. It currently operates 111 aircraft, with an
average age of four years, including 26 Boeing 777s, four Airbus A340-600s, 29
Airbus A330s and 44 Airbus A320 family types. It has orders and options
for more than 250 more aircraft, worth more than US$ 50 billion, for delivery
over the next few years. These include 13 Airbus A380-800s, 80 Airbus A350s, 60
Boeing 787s and 80 Airbus A320neos.
Qatar Airways is 50 per cent owned by the State of Qatar and
50 per cent by private shareholders.
ABOUT ONEWORLD
oneworld aims to be the first choice airline alliance for
the world’s frequent international travellers. It brings together
some of the best and biggest names in the airline business – airberlin,
American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan
Airlines, LAN, Qantas, Royal Jordanian and S7 Airlines, and around 20
affiliates including Austria’s NIKI, American Eagle, Dragonair, LAN Argentina,
LAN Ecuador and LAN Peru. Malaysia Airlines is on track to join at around
the turn of the year, with SriLankan to follow in 2013. India’s
Kingfisher Airlines is also a member elect. Mexicana is an inactive
member of the alliance.
oneworld enables its members to offer their customers more
services and benefits than any airline can provide on its own. These
include a broader route network, opportunities to earn and redeem frequent
flyer miles and points across the combined oneworld network and more airport
lounges. oneworld also offers more alliance fares than any of its
competitors.
oneworld is current holder of three leading international
awards for airline alliances - named the Best Airline Alliance by Global
Traveler in its GT Tested Reader Survey 2011 Awards for the second year
running, the World’s Leading Airline Alliance in the 2011 World Travel Awards,
for the ninth consecutive year, and the Best Airline Alliance 2011 in
Australian Business Traveller’s debut awards.
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