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Whilst the pandemic has seen most travelers around the world stuck at home, and travels numbers have plummeted compared to pre-pandemic levels, many airlines have been hard at work behind the scenes to ensure travel is better than ever before when it eventually recovers.
From adding new domestic and international routes to introducing contactless check-ins and on-board entertainment, airlines have striven to give customers the best possible service when they are ready to fly once more. Alaska Airlines have also been busy this week, announcing that they are to join the Oneworld airline alliance – here’s more on this announcement, and what it means for you.
Oneworld Airline Alliance – What Is It?
Founded in February 1999, the Oneworld Alliance is a collection of airlines from all over the world, and is the third-largest global airline alliance in terms of passengers carried (behind SkyTeam and Star Alliance). The alliance consists of 14 different airlines, many of which are some of the largest and most popular in the world, and serves as many as 1,000 destinations across 170 territories.
The member airlines are: Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Royal Air Maroc, Royal Jordanian, S7 Airlines, Sri Lankan Airlines and Fiji Airways.
Alaska Joins Oneworld – Information for Travelers
Having received an invitation to join the alliance in 8 months ago in July 2020, last week Alaska made it official and became a fully-fledged member of the group. Alaska is the most recent addition to the alliance, whilst the most recent previous addition being Royal Air Maroc last year.
Speaking about the decision to join, CEO of Alaska Ben Minicucci described it as joining a “family of the best airlines in the world”. He went on to add:
“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.”
Alaska already had partnerships with several Oneworld members, including British Airways, Qatar Airways and American Airlines, and it is the partnership with the latter that had already pricked the ears of the travel industry. Prior to joining Oneworld, Alaska had sought to strengthen its partnership with American Airlines, creating a seamless, standardized flying experience and sharing of membership benefits across both airlines.
Alaska In Oneworld – What It Means For Travelers
Not only does Alaska’s membership in the Oneworld travel alliance mean that its members have gained access to a much larger global network of flights, it also comes with other benefits that are bound to excite travel fans. Each member of the Alaska Mileage Plan can now earn air miles when flying on any of the other Oneworld Alliance member airlines, whilst they may have to wait until summer in order to hear about redemption options.
This isn’t the only benefit to come from the partnership either; Alaska members will also now have access to the hundreds of airport lounges that Oneworld has, keeping travelers comfortable and connected prior to flights, as well as the other typical benefits such as priority check-in and boarding and extra baggage allowance.
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