Letter from oneworld CEO Rob Gurney

Dear valued customers of oneworld Alliance,

Firstly, I hope that you, your family and your friends are keeping safe and well during this challenging time. The global effect of COVID-19 has been devastating on both a personal and professional level for so many.

I would like to say thank you for your ongoing support, patience and understanding throughout this period. COVID-19 has had far-reaching effects, with the aviation industry being impacted by government-imposed travel restrictions and resultantly facing its biggest challenge to date. Severe drops in demand have forced our members to quickly adapt and significantly reduce capacity. In addition, the consequential effects of significant air travel reduction on associated sectors has been severe – airports, aviation service providers, hotels and tourism have been impacted, highlighting just how imperative the connectivity that air travel provides has become.

I wish to reassure you that safety has always and will continue to be at the forefront of our member airline priorities. COVID-19 has inevitably placed our members in challenging positions, however, I wish to make it clear that the safety of air travel will not be compromised in any way. Furthermore, our members are all working hard to mitigate the risk of contracting or spreading COVID-19 when travelling, with extensive deep-cleaning and cleanliness measures being implemented to ensure your safety.

We are proud of our alliance members for the role that they are playing transporting essential medical supplies, reuniting loved ones through operating repatriation flights, donation of supplies to hospitals and airline employees volunteering their skills to medical organisations. Despite being under immense pressure, our members continue to show resilience in their support of the global effort and caring for the communities they serve.

For frequent flyers, I understand your concerns around maintaining your tier status and miles for future travel. Please be reassured that our members are continually implementing policy changes to protect your status. Measures include status extensions, the ability to earn miles at home, status threshold reductions and bonus miles, and we will continue to keep you fully informed about these updates.

Although normality may seem distant in the current circumstances, I hope that you can join me in looking forward to a future with clearer skies. Together we will reunite and travel again, we will explore new sights as we have done before, and experience cultures with a heightened appreciation of the world. When you are ready to travel once again, the oneworld Alliance will be there.

Yours sincerely,

Rob