Key milestones in oneworld's first decade

1998

September       

American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Canadian Airlines and Qantas announce their intention to form oneworld® and launch an intensive employee communication and training programme.

1999

February          

oneworld is born.  Founding members start offering oneworld services and benefits.

September       

Finnair and Iberia join and start offering oneworld services and benefits.

2000

August             

Visit Europe pass launched as oneworld's second consumer fare.

June                

Aer Lingus and LanChile (now LAN) join and start offering oneworld services and benefits as Canadian Airlines withdraws following its purchase by Air Canada.

May                 

oneworld's central alliance team established, in Vancouver.

2001

March              

Visit Africa, Asia, Australia/NZ, North and South Americas passes launched.

September       

World airline industry crisis leads to a change of focus - onto helping members achieve cost savings and build revenues beyond what they could accomplish individually.

November        

oneworld's network expands with the integration of the former TWA operation into American Airlines.

2002

June                

Circle Explorer and Circle Trip Explorer launched.

American Airlines and Finnair become the first airlines from different continents to introduce e-ticket interlining, as oneworld becomes the first of the global alliances to commit to introducing the system across its members.

August             

American Airlines and Finnair granted anti-trust immunity.

September       

oneworld named the world's Best Airline Alliance in what is believed to be the first major award recognising this sector of the travel industry - the 2002 Business Traveller Awards.

2003

June                

businessflyer sales product launched, initially in Germany, offering small and medium-sized companies fare discounts in return for a regular relationship with the alliance's carriers.  It is now also available in Belgium, France, Italy, Netherlands and Switzerland, with 8,000 companies participating.

John McCulloch succeeds Peter Buecking as oneworld Managing Partner.

October           

oneworld named World Travel Awards' first World's Leading Airline Alliance - a title it has retained ever since.

December        

British Airways and Iberia granted the European equivalent of anti-trust immunity.

2005

January            

British Airways and Iberia increase their co-operation by operating their services between London and both Madrid and Barcelona as a joint business.

April                 

oneworld becomes the first global alliance to enable customers to fly throughout its network, with multiple connections, on electronic tickets only, with the completion of interline e-ticketing links between all its member airlines - some three years ahead of its competitors.

2006

February          

All oneworld airlines serving Iberia's Madrid hub move into the airport's new EUR6 billion Terminal 4 in the alliance's biggest co-location activity to date.

2007

January            

oneworld's member airlines consolidate operations alongside recruit Japan Airlines at its biggest international hub Tokyo Narita in the alliance's biggest co-location project to date in the Asia Pacific region.

February          

oneworld becomes the only alliance with a member airline in South America, as Varig leaves Star.

April                 

Japan Airlines, Malév and Royal Jordanian join and start offering oneworld services and benefits. 

LAN Argentina and LAN Ecuador join as affiliates.

Aer Lingus withdraws as its changed focus on the low fare, point-to-point market is no longer in line with the alliance's strategy of serving the multi-sector, premium, frequent international traveller.

Visit Japan and Circle Asia and South West Pacific fares launched.

November        

Dragonair joins as an affiliate member. 

First airport lounges in the world developed as a oneworld project opened their doors - at Los Angeles. 

2008

March              

oneworld's biggest yet airport co-location project begins as British Airways starts its move into the new Terminal 5 at its London Heathrow base.  By the end of 2009, all the alliance's eight on-line carriers at its biggest European hub will have consolidated their operations from across all four of the airport's established terminals into just two - the new Terminal 5 and the closest of the existing facilities, Terminal 3.

April                 

Mexicana elected a member designate, with affiliate Mexicana Click.  They will join later in 2009.

August             

American Airlines, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia and Royal Jordanian apply for anti-trust immunity, enabling them to work more closely together.  American, BA and Iberia also announce plans for a joint business agreement covering their flights between North America and Europe.

November        

oneworld links with WestJet to launch a joint corporate sales programme in Canada.

December        

oneworld becomes the first in the travel industry to sell multi-airline round-the-world air fares on-line - and the first to sell any alliance consumer fare on-line - with the launch of its internet booking facility for its oneworld Explorer fare.

Notes              

For more details, see the Introduction to oneworld factsheet posted at www.oneworld.com/ow/news-and-information/fact-sheets