Oneworld to the rescue, president aims for more airlines

The CEO of Qatar Airways, Akbar Al Baker, wants to see more airlines in the family Oneworld, a global alliance that aims to provide better passenger service with connecting flights, discounted fares, and the integration of frequent flyer point programs. The goal is to make a decisive push to further increase Oneworld's position.

Al Baker's goals.

Akbar Al Baker, chairman of the board of directors of Oneworld, explained in an interview what the short- and long-term plans are: "Under my leadership, we accept nothing but being number one", he said, stressing that the will is to Increase the number of airlines that are part of the alliance. There are currently 14 full members with the arrival of Alaska Airlines in March 2021. Competitors are Star Alliance at 26 and SkyTeam, which has 19 airlines. The chairman is unabashed and criticizes the position of OneWorld members, "Except for Qatar Airways, airline members are not advertising the alliance to the best of their ability. It is important to be aggressive and let people know that we are the best."

Al Baker is also optimistic about the recovery of travel in general and premium and business travel in particular: "It's like during the financial crisis, which was due to mortgages, people didn't stop mortgaging their properties," he related. "Travel is important in exactly the same way." He added: "People want to travel and are willing to pay for classic business class services. In fact, we have 15-20% more occupants in our premium cabin than in the pre-Covid period, and our yields and prices are higher than pre-Covid."

What Oneworld offers

Alliance of 14 of the world's most prestigious airlines, Oneworld strives every day to provide a superior level and quality of service in almost 1,000 destinations in more than 170 countries around the world. Through this partnership, there is the opportunity to earn and redeem frequent flyer miles with all airlines that are part of the OneWorld network. Also offered is the exclusive opportunity to gain access to more than 650 premium airport lounges, which are reserved for upper tier members (discover the complete guide).

They are three elite categories provided by Oneworld: Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald. All three guarantee a large number of benefits in order to make one's experience with any alliance company exceptional. Ruby customers have access to basic benefits, such as priority access to the check-in stage if you have purchased a ticket in business. They are also given the ability to designate preferred seats on board, as well as priority in all wait or stand-by lists. Those in the Sapphire category also have access to business class lounges. In addition, there is priority boarding on board the aircraft and priority handling of their luggage. Finally, Emerald customers have every priority service (boarding, baggage handling, stand-by lists, and seat assignments), can bring extra baggage at no cost, and have access to the many lounges in both Business Class and First Class.