Oneworld (
CRS: *O, stylised as oneworld) is a global
airline alliance
An airline alliance is an aviation industry arrangement between two or more airlines agreeing to cooperate on a substantial level. Alliances may provide marketing branding to facilitate travelers making inter-airline codeshare agreement, codeshare ...
consisting of 14 member airlines. It was founded on 1 February 1999. The alliance's stated objective is to be the first choice airline alliance for the world's frequent international travellers. Its headquarters have been located in
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...
, since December 2022.
The alliance's current membership consists of
Alaska Airlines,
American Airlines
American Airlines, Inc. is a major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the ...
,
British Airways
British Airways plc (BA) is the flag carrier of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main Airline hub, hub at Heathrow Airport.
The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and pass ...
,
Cathay Pacific
Cathay Pacific Airways Limited, or simply Cathay Pacific, is the flag carrier of Hong Kong, with its head office and main airline hub, hub located at Hong Kong International Airport. The airline's operations and its subsidiaries have schedule ...
,
Fiji Airways,
Finnair
Finnair Plc (, ) is the flag carrier and largest full-service legacy airline of Finland, with headquarters in Vantaa on the grounds of Helsinki Airport, its airline hub, hub. Finnair and its subsidiaries dominate both domestic and international ...
,
Iberia
The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, compri ...
,
Japan Airlines,
Malaysia Airlines
Malaysia Airlines ( Malay: ''Penerbangan Malaysia'') is the flag carrier of Malaysia, headquartered at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The airline flies to destinations across Europe, Oceania and Asia from its main hub at Kuala Lumpur Int ...
,
Qantas
Qantas ( ), formally Qantas Airways Limited, is the flag carrier of Australia, and the largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations in Australia and List of largest airlines in Oceania, Oceania. A foundi ...
,
Qatar Airways,
Royal Air Maroc
Royal Air Maroc (RAM, ; ; ) is the Morocco, Moroccan national carrier, as well as the country largest airline, ranking among the largest in Africa.
RAM is wholly owned by the Cabinet of Morocco, Moroccan Government, and has its headquarters o ...
,
Royal Jordanian
Royal Jordanian Airlines (formerly known as Alia Royal Jordanian Airlines) is the flag carrier of Jordan with its head office in the capital, Amman. The airline operates scheduled international services over four continents from its main base at ...
and
SriLankan Airlines. On 20 June 2022,
Oman Air announced it would formally join the alliance by 30 June 2025.
its member airlines collectively operate a fleet of 3,296 aircraft, serve about 1,000 airports in 170 countries, carrying over 490 million passengers per year on 13,000 plus daily departures. It is the third-largest global airline alliance in terms of passengers carried, behind
SkyTeam (676 million in 2019) and
Star Alliance
Star Alliance is an airline alliance headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany. Founded on 14 May 1997, it was the world's first global airline alliance. Star Alliance has 25 member airlines that operate a combined fleet of over 5,000 aircraft, servi ...
(762 million in 2019).
Management
Oneworld announced the formation of a central alliance team, the Oneworld Management Company (OMC), in February 2000, to mark the alliance's first anniversary. The OMC was established May 2000 in
Vancouver
Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
, British Columbia, Canada (see
§ Headquarters below). It acts as the alliance's central secretariat, with responsibility for driving future growth and the launch of new customer services and benefits.
The OMC was first led by managing partner Peter Buecking, previously director of sales and marketing at
Cathay Pacific
Cathay Pacific Airways Limited, or simply Cathay Pacific, is the flag carrier of Hong Kong, with its head office and main airline hub, hub located at Hong Kong International Airport. The airline's operations and its subsidiaries have schedule ...
; followed by John McCulloch, previously the alliance's vice-president for marketing. Bruce Ashby, who previously held roles of CEO of
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
's
SAMA Airlines, CEO of India's
IndiGo
InterGlobe Aviation Limited (d/b/a IndiGo), is an India, Indian airline headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. It is the largest List of airlines of India, airline in India by passengers carried and fleet size, with a 64.1% domestic market ...
, and executive vice-president for
US Airways
US Airways was a major airline in the United States. It was originally founded in History of aviation in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called All American Aviation, which soon became a commercial passenger airline. In 1953, it ...
, became CEO in December 2011. Rob Gurney succeeded Ashby as CEO in October 2016.
Reporting to the CEO are vice-presidents for commercial; membership and customer experience; and corporate communications, a chief financial officer and an IT director.
The CEO reports to the Oneworld Governing Board, which is made up of the
chief executive
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization.
CEOs find roles in variou ...
s of each of the member airlines. The Governing Board meets regularly to set strategic direction and review progress. Chairmanship of the board rotates among the alliance members' chief executives.
Qatar Airways CEO
Akbar Al Baker
Akbar Al Baker (; born 1962) is a Qatari businessman who was the former CEO of Qatar Airways. He was also the chairman of Qatar Tourism until October 22, 2023. Under Qatar Airways Group, Al-Baker was also the CEO of Hamad International Airpo ...
succeeded
Qantas
Qantas ( ), formally Qantas Airways Limited, is the flag carrier of Australia, and the largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations in Australia and List of largest airlines in Oceania, Oceania. A foundi ...
CEO as chairman in May 2021.
Headquarters
In 2011, the alliance headquarters relocated from
Vancouver
Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
, British Columbia, Canada, to
Park Avenue
Park Avenue is a boulevard in New York City that carries north and southbound traffic in the borough (New York City), boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the wes ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, New York, United States, sharing premises with the local offices of a number of Oneworld member airlines including
American Airlines
American Airlines, Inc. is a major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the ...
,
British Airways
British Airways plc (BA) is the flag carrier of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main Airline hub, hub at Heathrow Airport.
The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and pass ...
,
Cathay Pacific
Cathay Pacific Airways Limited, or simply Cathay Pacific, is the flag carrier of Hong Kong, with its head office and main airline hub, hub located at Hong Kong International Airport. The airline's operations and its subsidiaries have schedule ...
,
Finnair
Finnair Plc (, ) is the flag carrier and largest full-service legacy airline of Finland, with headquarters in Vantaa on the grounds of Helsinki Airport, its airline hub, hub. Finnair and its subsidiaries dominate both domestic and international ...
,
Japan Airlines and
Qantas
Qantas ( ), formally Qantas Airways Limited, is the flag carrier of Australia, and the largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations in Australia and List of largest airlines in Oceania, Oceania. A foundi ...
.
The headquarters of the Oneworld alliance moved to
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...
, US, where
American Airlines
American Airlines, Inc. is a major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the ...
—one of its member airlines—is headquartered, in December 2022.
History
New global alliance
Oneworld was unveiled by its founding members,
American Airlines
American Airlines, Inc. is a major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the ...
,
British Airways
British Airways plc (BA) is the flag carrier of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main Airline hub, hub at Heathrow Airport.
The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and pass ...
,
Canadian Airlines,
Cathay Pacific
Cathay Pacific Airways Limited, or simply Cathay Pacific, is the flag carrier of Hong Kong, with its head office and main airline hub, hub located at Hong Kong International Airport. The airline's operations and its subsidiaries have schedule ...
and
Qantas
Qantas ( ), formally Qantas Airways Limited, is the flag carrier of Australia, and the largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations in Australia and List of largest airlines in Oceania, Oceania. A foundi ...
at a press conference in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, United Kingdom, on 21 September 1998. Oneworld was officially launched and became operational on 1 February 1999.
The alliance outlined its
services and benefits as including:
* Smoother transfers for passengers travelling across all member airlines
* Greater support to passengers regardless of which member airline they are travelling with
* Greater range of
round-the-world products
* Enhanced co‑operation in the member airlines'
frequent-flyer program
A frequent-flyer programme (FFP) is a loyalty program offered by an airline.
Many airlines have frequent-flyer programmes designed to encourage airline customers enrolled in the programme to accumulate points (also called miles, kilometres, ...
mes to provide more rewards
* Wider recognition and access to more
airport lounge
An airport lounge is a facility operated at many airports. Airport lounges offer, for selected passengers, comforts beyond those afforded in the airport terminal, such as more comfortable seating, quieter environments, and better access to custome ...
s.
* More
codeshare agreements and connecting flights between member airlines
Ahead of the official launch, the alliance embarked on an extensive employee communications and training programme, involving virtually all of the 220,000 staff employed by the five-member airlines, to ensure they could deliver what the alliance brand promised.
At its launch in 1999, Oneworld's member airlines and their affiliates served 648 destinations in 139 countries and carried 181 million passengers with a fleet of 1,577 aircraft.
First additional members
Finnair
Finnair Plc (, ) is the flag carrier and largest full-service legacy airline of Finland, with headquarters in Vantaa on the grounds of Helsinki Airport, its airline hub, hub. Finnair and its subsidiaries dominate both domestic and international ...
,
Finland
Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
's largest airline and
flag carrier, was the alliance's first new recruit on 9 December 1998.
The alliance welcomed
Iberia
The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, compri ...
, Spain's flag carrier, as its second recruit on 15 February 1999.
Both airlines, together with Iberia's franchisee,
Iberia Regional Air Nostrum, joined the alliance on 1 September 1999, adding more than 50 destinations to the Oneworld network.
On 19 May 1999,
LAN Chile became a member-elect, the alliance's first representative from Latin America. LanChile's two subsidiaries,
LAN Express and
LAN Perú, would also join the alliance.
Irish flag carrier
Aer Lingus
Aer Lingus ( ; an anglicisation of the Irish language, Irish , meaning "air fleet") is an Irish airline company which is the flag carrier of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Founded by the Irish Government, it was privatised between 2006 and 201 ...
was formally elected on board and confirmed as the ninth member of the alliance on 2 December 1999.
As LanChile and Aer Lingus joined on 1 June 2000, Canadian Airlines left the alliance, following the airline's purchase by
Air Canada
Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada, by size and passengers carried. Air Canada is headquartered in the borough of Saint-Laurent in the city of Montreal. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled and cha ...
, a member of the rival
Star Alliance
Star Alliance is an airline alliance headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany. Founded on 14 May 1997, it was the world's first global airline alliance. Star Alliance has 25 member airlines that operate a combined fleet of over 5,000 aircraft, servi ...
.
Swiss International Air Lines (Swiss) accepted an invitation to join Oneworld in September 2003, after signing a
memorandum of understanding (MOU) on 23 September 2003 to establish a wide-ranging commercial agreement with British Airways. However, Swiss later decided not to proceed with key elements of its agreement with British Airways and was therefore released from its commitment to join Oneworld; it was taken over by
Lufthansa
Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), trading as the Lufthansa Group, is a German aviation group. Its major and founding subsidiary airline Lufthansa German Airlines, branded as Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. It ranks List of largest airlin ...
in 2005 and joined
Star Alliance
Star Alliance is an airline alliance headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany. Founded on 14 May 1997, it was the world's first global airline alliance. Star Alliance has 25 member airlines that operate a combined fleet of over 5,000 aircraft, servi ...
in 2006.
2005–2006: The first big expansion drive
The mid 2000s saw Oneworld undertake one of the biggest expansions in its history.
Hungarian flag carrier
Malév signed an MOU in May 2005 as a precursor to a formal invitation to join, extended in November 2005.
On 17 October 2005, the alliance signed as a member-elect
Royal Jordanian
Royal Jordanian Airlines (formerly known as Alia Royal Jordanian Airlines) is the flag carrier of Jordan with its head office in the capital, Amman. The airline operates scheduled international services over four continents from its main base at ...
, the first airline from the
Middle East
The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq.
The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
to accept an invitation to join any global airline alliance.
Japan Airlines, then
Asia
Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
's largest airline group, applied to join the alliance on 25 October 2005.
JAL and Oneworld exchanged an MOU on 8 February 2006, setting out a framework for the remaining steps to be taken before the airline could be formally invited to join. On 5 June 2006, JAL accepted a formal letter of invitation to join the alliance, along with five members of the JAL Group as affiliate members, including
J-Air,
JAL Express,
JALways,
Japan Asia Airways and
Japan Transocean Air.

All three of these airline groups — Japan Airlines, Malév and Royal Jordanian — joined as full members and started offering the alliance's full range of services and benefits on 1 April 2007, along with, as Oneworld affiliate members, Japan Airlines' subsidiaries J‑Air, JAL Express, JALways, Japan Asia Airways and Japan Transocean Air, and LAN's subsidiaries LAN Argentina and LAN Ecuador. They expanded the Oneworld network to almost 700 airports in nearly 150 countries served by 9,000 daily departures, carrying around 315 million passengers per year with a fleet of almost 2,500 aircraft, with top-tier frequent flyers able to access 400
airport lounge
An airport lounge is a facility operated at many airports. Airport lounges offer, for selected passengers, comforts beyond those afforded in the airport terminal, such as more comfortable seating, quieter environments, and better access to custome ...
s worldwide.
On the same day, Aer Lingus voluntarily exited the alliance due to a fundamental change to its business strategy. The Irish carrier was repositioning itself as a low fares point-to-point carrier, while Oneworld's focus was on the multisector, premium, frequent international travellers' market. Although no longer a Oneworld member, Aer Lingus maintained frequent-flyer programme partnerships with some of the alliance members and continued to participate in the alliance's Global Explorer
round-the-world fare product.
In February 2012, Malév suspended all services indefinitely, citing financial difficulties. Its participation in Oneworld ended when the airline was wound up in the following weeks.
Tenth anniversary (February 2009)

In February 2009, Oneworld celebrated its tenth anniversary with its ten member airlines—American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia Airlines, Japan Airlines, LAN, Malév,
Qantas
Qantas ( ), formally Qantas Airways Limited, is the flag carrier of Australia, and the largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations in Australia and List of largest airlines in Oceania, Oceania. A foundi ...
, and Royal Jordanian.
In the past decade, membership had doubled from an initial five members to ten members; its member airlines carried a total of 2.5 billion passengers and generated almost $500
billion, €450 million in revenue from passenger activities. Alliance fares and sales products generated $5 billion, €2.5 billion in revenue alone, with two-thirds or almost $3 billion, €1.5 billion would not have been generated if the alliance did not exist.
As part of the celebration and to increase awareness of the 10‑member alliance, all the alliance member airlines decorated a proportion of their aircraft fleets in a new standard Oneworld livery—around 40 aircraft in total, mainly types that fly on international routes. The alliance also unveiled a special version of its logo, featuring the text "10 years" printed behind the word ''Oneworld'' as a watermark on its purple orb.
2009–2011: New recruits and expansion
On 26 May 2009, Russian airline
S7 Airlines was unanimously elected to the alliance. It became a full member on 15 November 2010, adding to Oneworld one of the most extensive networks covering Russia and the
Commonwealth of Independent States
The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional organization, regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an ar ...
(CIS). It expanded the Oneworld network to another 54 cities, 35 of them in Russia. The airline's subsidiary
Globus Airlines joined Oneworld at the same time as an affiliate member.
On 10 November 2009, Oneworld welcomed
Mexicana and its subsidiaries,
MexicanaClick and
MexicanaLink, after the airline accepted a formal invitation to join the alliance on 9 April 2008. Mexicana and its affiliates added 26 destinations to the alliance map.
Mexicana was a former member of Star Alliance, leaving the group in March 2004 when it terminated its codeshare agreement with
United Airlines
United Airlines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois that operates an extensive domestic and international route network across the United States and six ...
and opted for bilateral agreements with Oneworld members American Airlines and Iberia. On 2 August 2010, Mexicana filed for insolvency proceedings in Mexico and bankruptcy protection in the United States with its financial situation deteriorating. The airline suspended all operations from 28 August 2010.
With the group under Mexican court protection, it has remained an inactive member of Oneworld since then.
On 23 February 2010, India's
Kingfisher Airlines took its first step to joining Oneworld with its chairman
Vijay Mallya and chief executives from the alliance's existing member airlines signing a memorandum of understanding, subject to Indian regulatory approval. The airline gained approval to join the alliance from the India's Ministry of Civil Aviation and started participating in the alliance's Global Explorer round-the-world fare product. However, on 3 February 2012, just a week before it was due to join the alliance, Kingfisher Airlines' entry was put on hold to give it more time to strengthen its financial position.
Kingfisher Airlines suspended operations on 20 October 2012 and finally ceased operations in February 2013.
On 26 July 2010,
Air Berlin, at that time Germany's second-largest airline, accepted an invitation to join Oneworld
and joined the alliance on 20 March 2012.
On 6 June 2011,
Malaysia Airlines
Malaysia Airlines ( Malay: ''Penerbangan Malaysia'') is the flag carrier of Malaysia, headquartered at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The airline flies to destinations across Europe, Oceania and Asia from its main hub at Kuala Lumpur Int ...
became a new member designate on the sidelines of the IATA World Air Transport Summit in Singapore.
Malaysia Airlines became a part of Oneworld on 1 February 2013.
2012–2021: The second big expansion
On 11 June 2012,
SriLankan Airlines became Oneworld's latest member-elect, on the sidelines of the IATA World Air Transport Summit in
Beijing
Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
.
Cathay Pacific
Cathay Pacific Airways Limited, or simply Cathay Pacific, is the flag carrier of Hong Kong, with its head office and main airline hub, hub located at Hong Kong International Airport. The airline's operations and its subsidiaries have schedule ...
was SriLankan Airlines' sponsor through its alliance implementation programme. Its membership implementation was expected to take around 18 months. On 1 May 2014, SriLankan Airlines became a full member of the alliance, making it the first airline in the Indian subcontinent to join any alliance.
On 8 October 2012,
Qatar Airways became a member-elect of Oneworld. Qatar Airways was one of the fastest growing airlines worldwide—adding 15 destinations in 2012 alone—and one of the most highly regarded, having been named Airline of the Year by the
Skytrax independent airline quality ratings agency in both 2011 and 2012. The agreement to join was widely reported in the media as a coup for Oneworld, with Qatar Airways the first among the "Big Three" carriers in the
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...
to sign for any global airline alliance.
The airline joined the alliance on 30 October 2013.
On 14 February 2013, American Airlines began plans to merge with
US Airways
US Airways was a major airline in the United States. It was originally founded in History of aviation in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called All American Aviation, which soon became a commercial passenger airline. In 1953, it ...
. Following U.S.
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...
approval, the merger was completed on 9 December 2013. US Airways left Star Alliance on 30 March 2014, and joined Oneworld as an affiliate member the following day.
On 7 March 2013,
LATAM Airlines Group chose Oneworld as its alliance and announced that LAN subsidiary
LAN Colombia plus
TAM Airlines and its subsidiary
TAM Paraguay would join Oneworld. LAN Colombia joined the alliance on 1 October 2013.
On 31 March 2014, TAM Airlines and
US Airways
US Airways was a major airline in the United States. It was originally founded in History of aviation in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called All American Aviation, which soon became a commercial passenger airline. In 1953, it ...
joined Oneworld after leaving Star Alliance on 30 March 2014.
On 15 August 2017,
Air Berlin filed for insolvency after Abu Dhabi-based
Etihad Airways
Etihad Airways is one of the two flag carriers of the United Arab Emirates (the other being Emirates). Its head office is in Khalifa City, Abu Dhabi, near Zayed International Airport. The airline commenced operations in November 2003, and ...
stopped funding the airline. Air Berlin subsequently left Oneworld upon entering administration and ceasing operations on 28 October 2017.
On 1 June 2018, Oneworld introduced Oneworld Connect, a membership platform similar to Star Alliance's "Connecting Partners", with
Fiji Airways as the first member effective from 5 December onwards. The airline's membership eventually upgraded to full membership from 1 April 2025.
On 5 December 2018, Oneworld announced
Royal Air Maroc
Royal Air Maroc (RAM, ; ; ) is the Morocco, Moroccan national carrier, as well as the country largest airline, ranking among the largest in Africa.
RAM is wholly owned by the Cabinet of Morocco, Moroccan Government, and has its headquarters o ...
as a member-elect, and the airline joined the alliance on 1 April 2020, extending the alliance's network into Africa.
On 26 September 2019,
SkyTeam member
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, operating nine hubs, with Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport being its ...
announced its plans to buy 20% of LATAM for US$1.9 billion. On 1 January 2024, it was announced that Delta's acquisition of its 20% stake in LATAM was completed.
LATAM Airlines Group announced that it would leave Oneworld on 1 May 2020, but the fate of Qatar Airways' 10% stake in LATAM is currently unannounced.

On 31 March 2021,
Alaska Airlines and its affiliates
Alaska Horizon and
Alaska SkyWest joined the alliance as member and member affiliates, respectively.
2021-present: The third major expansion
On April 2022, following the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
,
S7 Airlines was suspended from Oneworld.
On 20 June 2022,
Oman Air and Oneworld signed the
MOU for Oman Air to join the alliance during IATA General Meeting in Doha. Qatar Airways will act as their sponsor.
In September 2022,
RwandAir's intentions in joining Oneworld, with a sponsorship from
Qatar Airways, were announced. This would make RwandAir the third airline to enter an airline alliance in East Africa, after
Ethiopian Airlines (
Star Alliance
Star Alliance is an airline alliance headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany. Founded on 14 May 1997, it was the world's first global airline alliance. Star Alliance has 25 member airlines that operate a combined fleet of over 5,000 aircraft, servi ...
) and
Kenya Airways (
SkyTeam), and second African airline after
Royal Air Maroc
Royal Air Maroc (RAM, ; ; ) is the Morocco, Moroccan national carrier, as well as the country largest airline, ranking among the largest in Africa.
RAM is wholly owned by the Cabinet of Morocco, Moroccan Government, and has its headquarters o ...
to join Oneworld.
In August 2023, the CEO of
MIAT Mongolian Airlines Munkhtamir Batbayar revealed in an interview the airline's intent to join as a Oneworld Connect member, the second after Fiji Airways. It already has extensive codesharing with some Oneworld members, for example, Cathay Pacific since 2017 and JAL since 2020.
On 3 December 2023, the
Alaska Air Group announced it planned to acquire
Hawaiian Airlines for US$1.9 billion. The deal, which closed on 18 September 2024, retains both Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines as separate brands. Under the deal, Hawaiian Airlines will become a Oneworld member and the two airlines will operate a combined frequent flyer program.
On 16 September 2024,
Starlux Airlines announced that it plans to apply to join the Oneworld alliance by the end of 2025.
Subsidiaries and franchises
Besides its full member airlines, Oneworld has affiliate member of regional airlines, that are either owned by or have strong commercial links with the alliance's full members. For customers, they further extend the network the alliance can offer. In governance terms, these affiliates are represented in Oneworld affairs by their parent airline.
Air Liberté ceased to be an affiliate member of Oneworld when the French airline was sold by British Airways to French investment group Taitbout with the UK carrier explaining that it had been unable to receive adequate returns on its investment in the business.
Kenya
Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...
-based
Regional Air joined the alliance on 1 July 2001, following its franchising agreement with British Airways.
British Airways
British Airways plc (BA) is the flag carrier of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main Airline hub, hub at Heathrow Airport.
The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and pass ...
terminated its franchise agreement with Regional Air when the African carrier suspended flights in mid April 2005, ending its affiliate membership of Oneworld.
TWA's
regional carriers, which operated under the
Trans World Express brand, became Oneworld affiliate members, as their name changed to
AmericanConnection on 2 December 2001, following TWA's acquisition by American Airlines. Three airlines operated under the AmericanConnection brand at that time:
Chautauqua Airlines,
Corporate Airlines, and
Trans States Airlines.
The alliance further strengthened its network in
Latin America
Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...
when LAN's two subsidiaries,
LAN Argentina and
LAN Ecuador, became the alliance's newest affiliate members. LAN Argentina launched passenger and cargo services in June 2005 from its home base in
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
, while LAN Ecuador launched its services in April 2003 from its home base in
Guayaquil
Guayaquil (), officially Santiago de Guayaquil, is the largest city in Ecuador and also the nation's economic capital and main port. The city is the capital (political), capital of Guayas Province and the seat of Guayaquil Canton. The city is ...
. Both airlines officially joined their sister airlines and offer alliance's services and benefits on 1 April 2007.
Conversely, on 5 March 2007, the alliance ended its relationship with affiliate member and British Airways subsidiary,
BA Connect. BA Connect's UK regional operations were sold to
Flybe on 3 November 2006, in return for a 15% stake in the latter. Approximately 50 UK regional routes are affected by the sale; however,
Belfast
Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
and
Southampton
Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
would remain linked to the alliance network through other British Airways and alliance members. BA Connect's operations from London City Airport and between
Manchester
Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
and New York were retained and operated by another British Airways subsidiary,
BA CityFlyer, and the airline itself, respectively.
The alliance ended its relationship with affiliate member and British Airways franchisee
BMED on 27 October 2007, following the purchase of the airline by one of British Airways' UK rivals,
BMI. Four days later, Oneworld welcomed its latest affiliate member and Cathay Pacific wholly-owned subsidiary
Dragonair to the alliance on 1 November 2007 – rebranded Cathay Dragon in 2016, it was consolidated into Cathay Pacific on 21 October 2020. Dragonair had the biggest network into mainland China for a non-mainland based carrier, with about 400 departures a week.
In 2008, the alliance lost another two affiliate members as British Airways continued the strategy of reducing its UK franchises. The first franchisee,
GB Airways, exited the alliance on 30 March 2008, following its purchase by
EasyJet. British Airways intended to start services from London Heathrow to
Faro, Portugal
Faro ( , ), officially the City of Faro (), is a Concelho, municipality, the southernmost city and capital of the district of Faro District, the same name, in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. With an estimated population of 67,566 inhabi ...
, and
Málaga
Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...
, Spain, and from London Gatwick to Faro,
Gibraltar
Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...
,
Ibiza, Málaga,
Palma, and
Tunis
Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...
, which were operated under the franchise.
The alliance bid farewell to one of its affiliate member
Japan Asia Airways on 31 March 2008, following the airline's consolidation into its parent, Japan Airlines. The second British Airways franchisee,
Loganair, left the alliance on 25 October 2008, following the ending of its franchise agreement with the airline. A separate agreement for
codesharing on some Loganair services replaced the previous franchise, for British Airways passengers connecting through
Aberdeen
Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...
,
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
and
Glasgow
Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
.
[
]
Member airlines
Full members and their affiliates
Founding member.
On routes operated on behalf of Alaska Airlines as Alaska SkyWest only.
American Eagle flights are operated by Envoy Air, Piedmont Airlines, PSA Airlines, Republic Airways
Republic Airways Inc. is a regional airline in the United States and a subsidiary of Republic Airways Holdings that operates service for American Airlines (as American Eagle (airline brand), American Eagle), Delta Air Lines (as Delta Connect ...
and SkyWest Airlines.
Independently operated franchise carriers using the British Airways name, livery and flight code.
On routes operated on behalf of Finnair only.
Iberia Regional flights are operated by Air Nostrum.
Pilots and cabin crew operate services for Qantas.
QantasLink flights are operated by Alliance Airlines, Eastern Australia Airlines, National Jet Systems
National Jet Systems, formerly ''Cobham Aviation Services Australia - Airline Services'', is an Australian regional airline based at Adelaide Airport, operating regular scheduled services as part of the QantasLink brand. , Network Aviation and Sunstate Airlines.
Future members and their affiliates
Suspended members and member affiliates
Former members and member affiliates
Former member affiliates of current member airlines
Founding member affiliate
AmericanConnection flights were operated by Chautauqua Airlines, RegionsAir
RegionsAir was a 14 CFR Part 121 regional airline based out of the Smyrna Airport in Smyrna, Tennessee, USA. The hub airports for RegionsAir were Lambert-St. Louis International Airport (STL) and Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CL ...
and Trans States Airlines
Merged with Cathay Pacific
Cathay Pacific Airways Limited, or simply Cathay Pacific, is the flag carrier of Hong Kong, with its head office and main airline hub, hub located at Hong Kong International Airport. The airline's operations and its subsidiaries have schedule ...
on 21 October 2020
Merged with SriLankan Airlines on 31 October 2016
Merged with American Airlines
American Airlines, Inc. is a major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the ...
on 17 October 2015
US Airways Express flights were operated by Air Wisconsin, Mesa Airlines, Piedmont Airlines, PSA Airlines, Republic Airways
Republic Airways Inc. is a regional airline in the United States and a subsidiary of Republic Airways Holdings that operates service for American Airlines (as American Eagle (airline brand), American Eagle), Delta Air Lines (as Delta Connect ...
and SkyWest Airlines
Internal hostilities
The Oneworld alliance has been home to numerous conflicts between member airlines.
As of 2024, all cases of tension between Oneworld airlines have involved Qatar Airways as one of the parties in the dispute.
Qatar Airways vs American Airlines (2017–2020)
Hostilities between American Airlines and Qatar Airways stemmed from allegations by American and other U.S. carriers that Qatar Airways, along with other Middle Eastern airlines, received excessive government subsidies
A subsidy, subvention or government incentive is a type of government expenditure for individuals and households, as well as businesses with the aim of stabilizing the economy. It ensures that individuals and households are viable by having acce ...
, creating unfair competition.
These claims, part of a broader dispute known as the "Gulf Carrier Dispute", centered on accusations that subsidies allowed Qatar Airways to expand aggressively into U.S. markets, threatening domestic airlines.
Tensions escalated in 2017 when American Airlines announced it would end its codeshare agreement with Qatar Airways, citing these unfair practices.
American Airlines criticised Qatar Airways' purchase of a 49% stake in Air Italy and the subsequent commencement of Air Italy flights to the US, with then-American Airlines CEO Doug Parker labelling the Air Italy services as a "violation" and referred to Qatar Airways as "the greatest threat to commercial aviation and the United States."
In 2018, Qatar Airways threatened to leave the Oneworld alliance citing the behaviour of American Airlines, along with separate issues with Qantas.
The dispute was largely resolved in 2020 through diplomatic negotiations between the U.S. and Qatari governments. Qatar Airways agreed to increase transparency in its financial reporting and limit certain flight routes to the U.S.
This agreement helped ease tensions, and the airlines have since improved relations, with American Airlines resuming codeshare agreements with Qatar Airways in 2020 to enhance their global network.
American Airlines began services to Qatar Airways' Doha hub in 2022.
Qatar Airways CEO comments on British Airways (2021)
In 2021, Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker called Oneworld member British Airways a "low cost carrier" that would score "two out of ten", despite Qatar Airways owning 25% of British Airways' parent company, International Airlines Group
International Consolidated Airlines Group S.A., Trade name, trading as International Airlines Group and usually shortened to IAG, is a British-Spanish Multinational corporation, multinational airline holding company with its registered office in ...
.
Al Baker further stated that:"British Airways will never again be the world's favourite airline, because that title belongs to Qatar Airways"
British Airways did not publicly respond to Qatar Airways' commentary.
Qatar Airways vs Qantas (2017–present)
In late 2012, before Qatar Airways joined the Oneworld alliance, Australian flag carrier and Oneworld founding member Qantas entered into a comprehensive joint venture
A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...
with Qatar Airways' rivals Emirates, and renewed it in 2017.
In 2018, the Coalition
A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces.
Formation
According to ''A G ...
government rejected an Australian expansion plan by Qatar Airways that was opposed by Qantas, who argued that the state-owned Qatari airline was dumping capacity and being "uncommercial and anti-competitive" by "selling tickets below cost-price, distorting markets and threatening the sustainable operation of international carriers to Australia"
Qantas referenced research by a US airline lobby group that revealed that Qatar Airways had received over US$17 billion in state aid and interest free loans from Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, as well as other support.
Qantas further stated that "we welcome healthy competition – however it must be fair."
This commentary from Qantas and the government rejection infuriated Qatar Airways and its CEO Akbar Al Baker
Akbar Al Baker (; born 1962) is a Qatari businessman who was the former CEO of Qatar Airways. He was also the chairman of Qatar Tourism until October 22, 2023. Under Qatar Airways Group, Al-Baker was also the CEO of Hamad International Airpo ...
, who publicly accused Qantas of failing to act "in the spirit" of the Oneworld alliance, and doubled down on this threat to leave the alliance after similar disputes with American Airlines.
COVID-19 pandemic
During the COVID-19 pandemic, in what was widely seen in aviation and business circles as a long-running publicity stunt intended to garner support from the Australian public as well as appeasement from Qatar Airways towards the Australian Government, Qatar Airways continually flew near-empty aircraft to and from Australia, under the banner of "bringing Australians home."
Due to Australia's international border restrictions, which were amongst the strictest in the world, Qantas was unable to operate international flights as it was a commercial corporation rather than a sovereign state-backed entity like Qatar Airways, who could afford to run the routes at a deep loss and counterbalance this loss by accessing subsidies from Qatar's sovereign wealth fund.
Despite this, Qatar Airways accumulated a large degree of support from the Australian public who were not aware of all the circumstances surrounding this issue, and Qatar Airways made another application to the Australian Government to double its flights to Australia in 2022 citing this support and their services to Australia during the pandemic.
Qatar Airways' attempts to depose Qantas from Oneworld
In 2022, Qatar Airways allegedly tried to have founding member Qantas kicked out of the Oneworld alliance. Qantas reportedly took the threat "seriously" by working to shore up support from other alliance members.
Virgin Australia-Qatar Airways partnership
In late 2022, Qatar Airways also launched a comprehensive partnership with Qantas' main rival Virgin Australia, and significantly reduced and devalued Oneworld benefits available for Qantas Frequent Flyer members, further escalating tensions with Qantas.
Qatar Airways also started to discourage its customers from using Qantas lounges, while Qantas in the most part refused to recognise Doha as a destination available to book flights to and from on its website.
Starting from late 2022 after the Virgin Australia partnership was launched, Qantas vehemently opposed Qatar's application, with similar reasons to its 2018 argument, and made several representations to the Government.
Qantas stated that Qatar Airways will be "distorting" the Australian travel market through its access to Qatar's sovereign wealth fund as well as pointing out that Qatar Airways may potentially be evading Australian law by engaging in tactics such as exploiting international flight landing agreements into smaller Australian cities.
Qantas also argued that Qatar Airways' additional flights would be severely detrimental to the Australian tourism industry as it would fly out more Australians who spend domestically than it would bring in people from overseas due to the "disproportionately high" number of Australian-based outbound passengers on Qatar Airways flights.
Al Baker, on a subsequent television interview, furiously insulted the Australian carrier for its commentary, criticising its absence in flying international flights during the pandemic, despite Qantas not being financially able to sustain international flights during this period.
In July 2023, after successful lobbying from the Australian flag carrier, the Australian government, which switched to Labor in May 2022, rejected Qatar Airways' new request for additional flights into Australia's major ports, further inflaming Qatar Airways.
In October 2024, Qatar Airways announced plans to purchase a 25% stake in Virgin Australia, a move widely seen as a workaround to the blocking of extra international flights from Doha and Qantas's role in that outcome.
The investment was approved by Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board and Competition & Consumer Commission in February 2025 allowing the flights to commence as planned in June 2025 between the capital cities and Doha. The partnership will increase code-share and collaboration between Virgin Australia and Qatar, further undermining the relationship with Qantas and considerably escalate already tense hostilities between the two Oneworld carriers.
Qantas has stated that they welcome competition in Australian's aviation sector but neither airline has commented how this latest change will impact their relationship and their interactions with the OneWorld Alliance.
Benefits and services
Co-location
Co-location provides alliance customers with smoother transfers between member airlines and better facilities than any of the member airlines could justify on their own. The alliance has combined ticket offices, check-in facilities and lounges at some 50 airports worldwide.[
]
Customer service initiatives
Interline electronic ticket
On 21 April 2005, Oneworld became the first airline alliance to enable its customers to fly throughout its members' network on electronic tickets (e-tickets) only, with the completion of interline e-ticketing (IET) links between all its member airlines.
Rewards
Oneworld members have harmonized frequent flyer tiers named Emerald, Sapphire and Ruby.
Awards and recognitions
Livery and logo
All alliance members' aircraft bear a Oneworld logo, in diameter, on the right of the first set of entry doors behind the cockpit.
Japan Airlines – 2007 special Oneworld livery
In 2007, Japan Airlines (JAL) painted two of its Boeing 777 aircraft, a Boeing 777-200ER (JA704J) and a Boeing 777-300 (JA8941), in a special Oneworld livery to mark its entrance into the alliance. The first aircraft (JA704J) took off from the airline's main international hub Tokyo Narita International Airport as Japan Airlines Flight 441 bound for Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
on 16 April 2007. The design featured "a huge globe in the distinctive horizon blue of Oneworld, painted on the centre of the aircraft, with a stylised motif to symbolise the convenience, comfort, value and choice available to passengers throughout the alliance's comprehensive global network".
Standard Oneworld livery
The new (optional) standard Oneworld livery was introduced as part of the alliance's tenth anniversary celebration in February 2009. It features the alliance name in large letters that are almost tall and the alliance logo along the side of their fuselage
The fuselage (; from the French language, French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds Aircrew, crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an Aircraft engine, engine as wel ...
, against a white or a polished metal background. The name of the operating member airline will be placed in smaller lettering in a standard position at the front of the aircraft below the alliance name and logo. Each member airline will also retain its regular tailfin, winglets and engine design, any fuselage designs that do not conflict with the alliance logo can also be retained.[
]
References
External links
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Airline alliances
Airlines based in Texas
Companies based in Fort Worth, Texas
Transportation companies based in Texas
1999 establishments in British Columbia
1999 in aviation