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A
year after Air India failed to join the Star Alliance, the government on
Tuesday said it would soon initiate talks with German carrier Lufthansa to
adhere to its plan to mentor the national carrier to join the global airline
group.
The
27-airline grouping, which is the largest alliance, had in July last year put
on hold Air India’s integration on grounds that it did not meet the minimum
joining requirements as stipulated in the contract signed in 2007. The
national carrier had denied this.
“We
are going to talk to Lufthansa to adhere to the plan we had to join the
alliance. The government gave a lot of facilities to the (German) airline
that was mentoring us to join Star Alliance. Meanwhile, Air India also had
some problems. But now they are over,” Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh
said on Tuesday at the Economic Editors Conference here.
“Now
we are going to talk to Lufthansa to adhere to the plan we had,” he said,
adding that Lufthansa got a lot of flights into India in exchange for
mentoring Air India.
Entry
into the alliance would give a boost to Air India as it would be able to
offer seamless travel to customers, usage of frequent flier points redeemable
with any member airline and global connectivity. Star Alliance network offers
21,200 daily flights to 1,356 airports in 193 nations.
Qatar Airways Joins Oneworld Alliance
At a press conference held at the Four Seasons Hotel New York, Oneworldpartners from American
Airlines,British Airways, and Qatar Airways announced that Qatar
Airways would be the newest member of the Oneworld alliance to an audience of
senior executives from Oneworld member airlines and journalists.
Before officially signing the agreement to join the Oneworld
alliance and exchanging gifts with his new airline partners, Qatar Airways
CEO Akbar Al Baker remarked at the conference, “Today is recognition that
Gulf carriers have come a long way. As a member elect of Oneworld, we look
forward to working with our partners and capitalizing on a new era.” He
added, “This is a win-win for all, and we rise to the new challenge as Qatar
enters a new chapter in its short life.”
The addition of Qatar Airways marks a major addition for the
Oneworld alliance, Oneworld executives stressed during the media conference.
The Doha-based airline is the first of three major airlines based in the Gulf
Region to sign onto any of the major global air alliances. With the addition
of Qatar Airways, Oneworld’s global reach will expand to 856 destinations in
159 countries, served by a combined fleet of 2,600 aircraft operating more
than 9,300 flights and carrying almost a million passengers every day (342
million a year), generating annual revenues of nearly $ 120 billion.
“Why invite a gulf carrier to join in the first place?,”
Oneworld CEO Bruce Ashby asked. “Well, we must offer a collection of high
quality carriers that provides a global network most relevant to the needs of
our frequent international carriers. Gulf carriers have grown into big
airlines. They’ve been embraced by consumers. We don’t see why passengers who
fly with gulf carriers should be refused by alliance privileges.”
Qatar Airways is also the second airline based in the Middle
East to join the alliance, following Royal Jordanian, which joined in 2007.
Over the past two years, the 15-year-old airline has consistently ranked as a
top international airline and was named Airline of the Year by independent
airline quality rating agency Skytrax. It currently flies to more than 120
destinations in 70 countries throughout the Middle East, Europe, Africa,
North and South America, Asia, and Australasia with the majority of its flights
flying nonstop from Doha. It also has one of the youngest fleets in the
industry, with the average age of its aircraft being just four years old.
Qatar Airways already codeshares with Oneworld member designate
Malaysia Airlines, which is slated to be the next airline to join the
alliance. Oneworld member elect SriLankan Airlines is expected to join the
alliance in 2013.
When Qatar Airways officially becomes part of oneworld, its 2.2
million Privilege Club frequent flyer members will be able to earn and redeem
rewards on any of Oneworld’s other carriers. Likewise, the 125 million
frequent flyer cardholders from Oneworld’s established airlines will be able
to earn and redeem rewards when flying on Qatar Airways.
When asked about Qatar Airways’ decision to join Oneworld over
other airline alliances now, Al Baker said, “We have joined an alliance very
fast. We are only 15 years old. It was good step and a very fast step. As
long as the other Gulf carriers are concerned, I cannot speak for them. But you
must have heard that Etihad had preempted this by having a relationship with
Skyteam. People have their own strategies … we always go for
goldsmiths, not for people who are scrap dealers.”
Also in attendance at the press conference were Tom Horton, American
Airlines chairman and chief executive, and Willie Walsh, chief executive of
IAG, the parent company of British Airways and Iberia. While the executives
alluded to some of the labor- and aircraft-safety troubles that have put
American Airlines in the media spotlight in recent days, they were quick to
show their support for American and tried to shift the focus of the
conference toward the addition of Qatar Airways.
Executives in attendance were also quick to
stress that the addition of Qatar would not compromise any existing codeshare
agreements or partnerships that its member airlines have with other Gulf
carriers, including Qantas’ relationship with Emirates.
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