oneworld unveils its first-ever dedicated lounge experience in Seoul

Breaking new ground in premium benefits and luxury air travel, the oneworld Alliance unveiled its first-ever fully branded dedicated airport lounge in Seoul.

The new oneworld lounge opens as the world’s leading airline alliance prepares to celebrate its landmark 25th anniversary later this year.

For the launch of its first branded lounge, oneworld collaborated with global aviation ground services provider Swissport and the team behind its award-winning ASPIRE Airport Lounges.

Situated in Terminal 1 of Incheon International Airport, the spacious new oneworld lounge stretches across 555 square metres and features stylish seating in a contemporary new setting for up to 148 customers. The bright new lounge is no more than a 10-minute walk from the furthest oneworld airlines’ departure gates.

Incheon International Airport is served by seven oneworld member airlines: American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways and SriLankan Airlines. Between them, these oneworld member airlines operate more than 60 weekly flights to Seoul, connecting the Korean capital with more than 900 destinations world-wide through the oneworld member network.

The new contemporary airport lounge experience provides oneworld customers with vibrant and calming space to recharge, relax, and dine before their flight.  

Gerhard Girkinger, oneworld Vice President, Customer Experience, Delivery and Membership, said: “With oneworld celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2024, we are incredibly proud to be opening the very first oneworld branded lounge experience for our member airlines’ customers.

“The new oneworld lounge is an exciting next step in our vision to making travel bright. Together with ASPIRE, we have combined refined fixtures and finishes, digital technologies, and warm and ergonomic settings to create smart and memorable travel experiences.

“Our new Incheon lounge resets the benchmark for contemporary travel and will serve as the blueprint for future oneworld lounges in select airports around the world.”

David Collyer, Swissport International AG Global Vice President Executive Lounges, said: “We are thrilled to collaborate with oneworld on our first joint lounge concept and are very pleased with the result.

"Leveraging our expertise as the go-to partner for airlines to outsource their complex hub and large base operations, Swissport and our ASPIRE team are committed to bringing the same standard of excellence to oneworld’s new lounge business.”

The new lounge is open daily between 7:30am and 11:45pm (apart from Monday and Saturday when it opens earlier at 4:30am), for eligible oneworld Emerald and Sapphire customers departing from Seoul on oneworld flights, as well as First and Business Class customers travelling with oneworld member airlines.

Behind the first oneworld dedicated lounge design.

oneworld becomes first airline alliance to join IATA CO2 Connect

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the oneworld Alliance will work together in the field of CO2 emission calculations with all 13 oneworld member airlines committing to contributing operational data to IATA’s CO2 Connect emissions calculator. This will further improve the quality and accuracy of the tool, as the percentage of airline-specific fuel burn data used by the calculator will substantially increase, with the data provided by the following oneworld member airlines: Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qatar Airways, Qantas, Royal Air Maroc, Royal Jordanian, and SriLankan Airlines.

IATA Senior Vice President, Sustainability and Chief Economist, Marie Owens Thomsen said: “Travelers want to make informed choices regarding their CO2 footprint and IATA CO2 Connect set out to provide CO2 emission calculations based on operational data. We are delighted that oneworld will become the first airline alliance to join this initiative, bringing in its 13 member airlines as data contributors. Their decision underscores the importance of the industry’s objective of providing consistency and alignment in this field.”

oneworld Environmental and Sustainability Board Chair and General Manager Sustainability, Cathay Pacific, Grace Cheung said: “oneworld is proud to be the first global airline alliance to support IATA’s work to provide customers with high-quality estimates of the CO2 emissions of their flights. Our collaboration with IATA on CO2 Connect will in turn help key players across the aviation sector, including airlines, aircraft manufacturers and travel management companies among others, to make better and more informed choices for travelers and enhanced ESG reporting.”

IATA launched CO2 Connect in June 2022, with the objective of using member airline data, such as fuel burn, belly cargo and load factors, to provide high-quality per flight passenger CO2 emission calculations. Paired with other IATA and open market data sources, IATA CO2 Connect calculates CO2 emissions for 74 aircraft types, representing ~98% of the active global passenger fleet, and considers traffic data from 881 aircraft operators representing ~93% of global air travel.

IATA CO2 Connect data calculations are available to industry partners through an API or flat file, as well as via airline sales channels and travel management companies.

oneworld Global Headquarters to Relocate to Fort Worth, Texas

The oneworld® Alliance will relocate its global headquarters to Fort Worth, Texas, joining oneworld founding member American Airlines and strengthening the Dallas-Fort Worth region as a centre of aviation excellence.

Currently located in New York City, the oneworld global headquarters will move to Fort Worth effective December 2022, joining American on its 300-acre, state-of-the art Robert L. Crandall Campus adjacent to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW). American’s campus, dubbed Skyview, is home to the airline’s Flight Academy, DFW Reservations Center, Robert W. Baker Integrated Operations Center, Training and Conference Center, and CR Smith Museum, as well as an office complex that houses the airline’s leadership and support staff.

oneworld has been based in New York City since 2011, following a move from Vancouver where the alliance’s central management team was based after the launch of the alliance in 1999. Co-locating with founding member American Airlines, the largest airline in the world, will further accelerate the alliance’s drive to deliver greater value for its member airlines and customers. The oneworld central management team will continue to be led by Rob Gurney, who was appointed as CEO in 2016.

Dallas-Fort Worth is one of the fastest growing hubs in the oneworld network, offering nearly 900 daily flights to more than 260 destinations. In addition to being American’s largest hub, DFW is served by seven other oneworld members: Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Qatar Airways and Qantas. Both Finnair and Iberia launched new service to DFW in the past year, leveraging the strength of American’s network at its largest hub.

Members of the oneworld® Alliance plan to purchase up to 200 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel

Members of the oneworld® Alliance plan to purchase up to 200 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel per year from Colorado-based renewable fuels producer Gevo, in the second such joint commitment by the global airline alliance in four months. Delivery of the fuel will commence from 2027, for a five year-term.  

oneworld is the first global airline alliance to jointly commit to purchasing sustainable aviation fuel, and the new commitment is the second of its kind. In November 2021, oneworld announced a joint commitment to purchase more than 350 million gallons of blended sustainable aviation fuel from Aemetis for operations at San Francisco and Finnair was among the members in this commitment. 

Finnair has set a long-term target to fly carbon neutral in 2045 and SAF is an important part of the toolkit for reaching this target. In March 2022, Finnair invited its customers to offset their flight emissions with a service that combines Sustainable Aviation Fuel and trusted climate projects. Finnair has flown individual flights with SAF blend already since 2011, and intends to increase the use of SAF in its flight operations.  

“The high price and limited availability of sustainable aviation fuels still present challenges for increasing its usage in commercial aviation, and thus stimulating demand and supply is important to drive down the price of SAF and to increase its availability – underlining the importance of joint commitments like that of oneworld member airlines,” says Eveliina Huurre, SVP Sustainability at Finnair. 

Gevo’s sustainable aviation fuel is produced using inedible corn products that are processed to create ethanol that is then converted into sustainable aviation fuel. The sustainable aviation fuel is expected to be produced at three facilities under development in the Midwest of the United States. 

Finnair has earlier partnered with Neste in Finland to increase to use of SAF and hence reduce carbon emissions of flying. 

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oneworld, SkyTeam and Star Alliance Urge Universal Travel Standards

To facilitate the safe restart of international travel and restore the value contributed by travel and tourism to the world’s economy, the three global airline alliances oneworld, SkyTeam and Star Alliance are calling on G7 governments, at their upcoming leadership summit on 11-13 June, to agree on a common set of travel and health standards to enable the safe reopening of borders.

COVID-19 has significantly impacted the travel and tourism sector, which has long been a key contributor to many economies. A recent estimate by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) showed that international tourism declined by around 80% in 2020. Prior to the pandemic, tourism contributed more than 4% of GDP for the average OECD country, with the World Travel and Tourism Council estimating up to 174 million jobs at risk globally.

In unison, the CEOs of the three global alliances – Kristin Colvile at SkyTeam, Rob Gurney for oneworld, and Jeffrey Goh of Star Alliance – said: “International air travel and tourism are vital to the global economy. With considerable data now available to support government decisions in managing risks, decisive action from G7 members to open borders and support clear, consistent, and data-driven measures, would remove uncertainty, particularly around testing and quarantine.”

Alaska Airlines officially joins oneworld

It has been a long time in the making, but a major milestone in the 89-year history of Alaska Airlines occurred today - the respected carrier celebrated its first day as a member of oneworld. 

Alaska becomes the 14th full member of the global alliance, eight months after receiving a formal invitation from oneworld in July 2020.

"Joining oneworld is joining a family of the best airlines in the world," said Ben Minicucci, Alaska's CEO. "Being a part of the alliance allows us to provide fantastic global connectivity, a seamless travel experience and more valuable loyalty offerings for our guests. This alliance transforms Alaska into a truly global airline, connecting our strong West Coast network and destinations across North America with the worldwide reach of our oneworld partners."

With safety protocols in place due to the pandemic, Alaska and oneworld hosted a virtual celebration and news conference today in Seattle, the airline's hometown. Fellow airline members from around the world welcomed Alaska to the alliance with video greetings and provided versions of employees performing the Alaska Safety Dance, briefly renamed the Global Safety Dance.

Oxford Researchers Partner with American Airlines, British Airways and oneworld to Analyse COVID-19 Testing Trial Results

 American Airlines, British Airways and oneworld® have teamed up with researchers at the Oxford Internet Institute (OII), the University of Oxford, in the review and analysis of survey data from the COVID-19 testing trial recently launched by the airlines and alliance.

The project, Trust, Testing and Travel, Technology Use, Traveller Knowledge and Compliance with COVID-19 Health Rules, involves OII researchers analyzing aggregated, nonpersonal survey data from air travelers on their behavior and sentiment toward trial testing.

The airlines and the alliance have created a taskforce to evaluate the results of the trial. The task force, comprising oneworld member airline representatives and independent medical experts, will work with OII, to consider the results and implications of the survey data from participants in the trial.

American Airlines, British Airways and oneworld launch transatlantic COVID-19 testing trial

American Airlines, British Airways and 

oneworld launch transatlantic 

COVID-19 testing trial

American Airlines, British Airways and oneworld® have launched an optional COVID-19 medical-based testing trial on selected flights from the United States (US) to London Heathrow (LHR), in a combined effort to scientifically demonstrate how COVID-19 testing can reopen international travel and remove the need for passengers to quarantine on arrival.

The free tests will initially be offered to eligible customers booked on American Airlines flight AA50 departing Dallas/ Fort Worth (DFW) to LHR; British Airways flight BA114 departing New York's John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK) to LHR; and British Airways flight BA268 from Los Angeles (LAX) to LHR, beginning 25 November. The test will be expanded to American Airlines flight AA106 from JFK to LHR, with a launch date to be communicated.

Eligible customers booked on flights that are part of the trial will be contacted by American Airlines and British Airways with instructions on how to volunteer. Each customer participating in the trial will take three tests in conjunction with the journey. If a customer tests positive, they should reschedule or cancel their travel.

World’s airline alliances join together to call on international governments to act quickly to adopt testing protocols and digital health pass technology to reopen borders

World’s airline alliances join together to call on international governments to act quickly to adopt testing protocols 

and digital health pass technology to reopen borders

 

The three global airline alliances, oneworld, SkyTeam and Star Alliance, are in full support of the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) second-phase Council on Aviation Recovery Task Force (CART) report released on 10 November. Together, they urge governments to implement the report guidelines for passenger testing protocols, as well as the adoption of digital health pass technology, so air travel may safely resume.

Government-imposed travel and entry restrictions continue to significantly impact global travel demand. Meanwhile, COVID-19 testing has emerged as an important part of an end-to-end solution to enable the safe restart of international travel by potentially reducing the reliance on the blunt instrument of blanket quarantines.

 

“We welcome the publication of the updated CART report which, among other things, calls for the serious consideration of screening and testing as a means for easing travel and border restrictions, and reviving the travel and tourism industry and the global economy,” said Star Alliance CEO Jeffrey Goh. “A robust protocol for testing will also provide further evidence to demonstrate that air travel is not a material cause for infections and will pave the way for a framework of trust to be established between countries.”

 

British Airways retires the first of 31 Boeing 747 jumbos

Photo British Airways

It seems like only a few days ago that the UK's British Airways advised that it was dropping the Boeing 747 from its fleet earlier than planned, blaming the current coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic from reduced demand.

On Tuesday 18th August the airline retired the first of its 31 these giant passenger aircraft. The Boeing 747-400, registration G-CIVD, departed from London Heathrow in the morning, under flight number BA9170E after more than 25 magnificent years of flying.

The aircraft received an emotional farewell from the NATS Air Traffic Control Tower at Heathrow Airport.

British Airways’ fleet of 747s are being retired at an accelerated rate as a result of the mass downgrade of the once former great airline by the firm's management, blamed on the devastating impact the Covid-19 pandemic. To protect shareholders' interests the management is dramatically cutting the workforce, forcing staff to reapply for positions on lower pay and much worse conditions as it seeks to cut costs, 

Alaska Airlines to become 14th member of oneworld alliance.

Alaska Airlines to join oneworld

It has been talked about for ages,  now it has finally been confirmed that the U.S. carrier based in  Seattle is going to join the oneworld airline alliance. Alaska Airlines will become the alliance’s 14th member airline when it joins later this year.

Alaska Air's wholly-owned regional subsidiary Horizon Air, as well as its regional partner SkyWest Airlines, will join as oneworld affiliate members at the same time, the alliance confirmed.

Upon becoming a member of oneworld, Alaska Airlines will offer the full range of oneworld customer services and benefits to its customers, including loyalty membership benefits for Alaska Mileage Plan cardholders. Top tier members may also access more than 650 lounges worldwide.

“We’re excited to become a member of oneworld, the industry’s premier alliance, and honoured to receive this invitation. This milestone will improve connectivity and service for our guests throughout the West Coast and beyond,” said Brad Tilden, Alaska Airlines’ Chairman and CEO. “oneworld will open up a tremendous international network for our business and leisure travellers when they’re ready to start flying overseas again, in addition to greater connectivity around the U.S. through our network for international visitors. We’re eager to build deeper ties with the six oneworld members we already cooperate with, and looking forward to working with new partners that are some of the best airlines in the world.”

SkyTeam, oneworld and Star Alliance join forces to give customers confidence in travel

The three global airline alliances, SkyTeam - of which Delta is a founding member - oneworld and Star Alliance have combined forces to highlight how airlines are working to ensure customers’ wellbeing while travelling.  

Dear Travellers is a video created to give an insight into the many measures customers can expect to see over the coming months, as travel restrictions are slowly eased and the world starts to reopen. 

Together, the three alliances represent more than 50 percent of the world’s air traffic. Each has announced a multi-layered approach to safer operations with initiatives that meet or exceed the stringent measures recommended by health experts, regulators and leading industry bodies.  

The alliances are recommending a number of safety measures that Delta already has in place, such as wearing face coverings and using HEPA filters, but we have also implemented initiatives above and beyond these including capping capacity and blocking middle seats onboard our flights. 

Kristin Colvile, SkyTeam’s CEO, said: “The safety and well-being of passengers and employees have always been our members’ number one priority. We have seen an incredible level of cooperation within the entire aviation community to implement multiple layers of protection around health and hygiene. Passengers can be assured that when they travel many actions have been taken to enhance their personal safety in the airport and the air.” 

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oneworld, SkyTeam and Star Alliance member airlines call on governments and stakeholders for extraordinary support

oneworld, SkyTeam and Star Alliance member airlines call on governments and stakeholders for extraordinary support

On behalf of their member airlines, the three global airline alliances oneworld®, SkyTeam and Star Alliance are jointly calling on governments and stakeholders to take action to alleviate the unprecedented challenges faced by the global airline industry amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The three global alliances, which represent almost 60 airlines around the world that contribute more than half of global airline capacity, are strongly supporting a request by the International Air Transport Association for regulators to suspend slot usage rules for the northern summer 2020 season as the airline industry suffers from extraordinary reductions in passenger demand.

The alliances welcome the moves in recent days by some regulators who have suspended slot regulations temporarily and urge others to follow suit promptly. They also request that regulators consider extending the suspensions for the entire operating season.