Oneworld facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Oneworld

Launch date	1 February 1999; 26 years ago (1999-02-01)
Full members	13
Non-voting members	14 affiliates
Pending members	2
Destination airports	1,012
Destination countries	170
Annual passengers (M)	490
Fleet size	3,296
Headquarters	List of headquarters Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (1999–2011) *New York City, New York, United States (2011 – December 2022) *Fort Worth, Texas, United States (since 2022)
Management	Robert Isom (Chairman) Nat Pieper (CEO)
Alliance slogan	Travel Bright
Website

Oneworld (also written as oneworld) is a big group of airlines that work together. It's called an airline alliance. There are 13 main airlines in this group.

Oneworld started on February 1, 1999. Its main goal is to be the best choice for people who travel a lot internationally. Since December 2022, its main office has been in Fort Worth, Texas, in the United States.

The airlines that are part of Oneworld include Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Royal Air Maroc, Royal Jordanian, and SriLankan Airlines. Fiji Airways is also a special "Oneworld Connect" partner. Oman Air plans to join the group by 2024.

As of March 2020, all the airlines in Oneworld have 3,296 airplanes. They fly to about 1,000 airports in 170 countries. They carry over 490 million passengers each year, with more than 13,000 flights every day. Oneworld is the third-largest airline alliance in the world.

How Oneworld is Managed

Oneworld set up a special team called the Oneworld Management Company (oMC) in February 2000. This team helps the alliance grow and create new services for travelers. The oMC first started in Vancouver, Canada, and then moved to New York City in 2011.

The oMC is led by a CEO. This CEO reports to the Oneworld Governing Board. The Governing Board is made up of the leaders of each member airline. They meet regularly to decide the future plans for Oneworld.

Where Oneworld's Main Office Is

In 2011, Oneworld's main office moved from Vancouver, Canada, to New York City, USA. It shared space with some of its member airlines.

In December 2022, the Oneworld office moved again. It is now in Fort Worth, Texas, USA. This is the same city where American Airlines, one of its founding members, has its main office.

Oneworld's History

Starting a New Global Alliance

Cathay Pacific is one of the airlines that helped start Oneworld.

Oneworld was first announced in London, United Kingdom, on September 21, 1998. The airlines that started it were American Airlines, British Airways, Canadian Airlines International, Cathay Pacific, and Qantas. Oneworld officially began flying on February 1, 1999.

The alliance wanted to offer travelers many benefits, such as:

• Easier connections when flying with different member airlines.
• More help for passengers, no matter which member airline they were flying with.
• More choices for special "round-the-world" tickets.
• Better rewards for frequent flyers.
• Access to more airport lounges around the world.
• More flights and connections between member airlines.

Before starting, Oneworld trained about 220,000 staff members. This was to make sure everyone could deliver on the alliance's promises. When it launched in 1999, Oneworld airlines flew to 648 places in 139 countries. They carried 181 million passengers with 1,577 airplanes.

First New Airlines Join

Finnair was the first new airline to join Oneworld after it started.

Finnair from Finland was the first new airline to join Oneworld on December 9, 1999. Then, Iberia from Spain joined on February 15, 1999. Both airlines became full members on September 1, 1999. They added over 50 new places to the Oneworld network.

On May 19, 1999, LAN Chile from Latin America decided to join. Its smaller airlines, LAN Express and LAN Perú, also joined. Aer Lingus from Ireland became the ninth member on December 2, 1999. LAN Chile and Aer Lingus joined on June 1, 2000. However, Canadian Airlines International left the group. This happened because Air Canada, which is part of a different alliance called Star Alliance, bought Canadian Airlines.

Swiss International Air Lines (Swiss) was invited to join Oneworld in September 2003. But Swiss later decided not to join. It was bought by Lufthansa in 2005 and joined the Star Alliance instead.

Big Growth from 2005 to 2006

A Royal Jordanian airplane with the Oneworld logo.

The mid-2000s were a time of big growth for Oneworld. Malév from Hungary and Royal Jordanian from the Middle East decided to join in 2005. Royal Jordanian was the first airline from the Middle East to join any global airline alliance.

Japan Airlines, a very large airline group in Asia, also applied to join in October 2005. They officially accepted the invitation in June 2006. Five smaller airlines from the JAL Group also joined as partners.

Japan Airlines airplanes showing the Oneworld logo.

All three of these airline groups—Japan Airlines, Malév, and Royal Jordanian—became full members on April 1, 2007. This made the Oneworld network much bigger. It now covered almost 700 airports in nearly 150 countries. They had 9,000 flights daily and carried about 315 million passengers each year.

On the same day, Aer Lingus chose to leave Oneworld. They wanted to become a low-cost airline, which didn't fit with Oneworld's focus on international travelers.

In February 2012, Malév stopped all flights because of money problems. It left Oneworld when the airline closed down.

Celebrating Ten Years in 2009

Oneworld 10th Anniversary logo

An American Airlines airplane with the Oneworld logo.

In February 2009, Oneworld celebrated its tenth birthday. It had grown from 5 to 10 member airlines. Over ten years, its airlines had carried 2.5 billion passengers.

To celebrate, Oneworld put a new logo on about 40 of its airplanes. This new logo had the alliance name in big letters and the Oneworld symbol. It also had a special "10 years" watermark on its logo.

New Airlines Join from 2009 to 2011

An S7 Airlines airplane with the Oneworld logo.

On May 26, 2009, S7 Airlines from Russia joined Oneworld. It became a full member on November 15, 2010. This added many new cities in Russia to the Oneworld network.

On November 10, 2009, Mexicana from Mexico also joined. Mexicana added 26 new places to the alliance map. However, Mexicana stopped all flights on August 28, 2010, because of money problems. It has not been an active member since then.

A Malaysia Airlines airplane with the Oneworld logo.

Kingfisher Airlines from India planned to join in February 2010. But its entry was put on hold because of financial issues. Kingfisher Airlines stopped flying in February 2013.

On March 20, 2012, Air Berlin, a large airline from Germany, joined Oneworld.

Malaysia Airlines became a new member on February 1, 2013.

More Growth from 2012 to Today

A Qatar Airways airplane in 2014. It was the first big airline from the Persian Gulf to join an alliance.

On June 11, 2012, SriLankan Airlines from Sri Lanka decided to join Oneworld. It became a full member on May 1, 2014. This made it the first airline from the Indian subcontinent to join any alliance.

On October 8, 2012, Qatar Airways also decided to join Oneworld. Qatar Airways was growing very fast and had won awards for being a top airline. It was a big win for Oneworld because Qatar Airways was the first major airline from the Persian Gulf region to join a global alliance. It joined on October 30, 2013.

In February 2013, American Airlines and US Airways planned to merge. After the merger, US Airways left Star Alliance and joined Oneworld as a partner on March 31, 2014.

On March 7, 2013, LATAM Airlines Group chose Oneworld as its alliance. Some of its airlines, like LAN Colombia and TAM Airlines, joined Oneworld. LAN Colombia joined on October 1, 2013. TAM Airlines joined on March 31, 2014.

On August 15, 2017, Air Berlin stopped flying because of money problems. It left Oneworld on October 28, 2017.

On June 1, 2018, Oneworld started a new type of membership called Oneworld Connect. Fiji Airways was the first airline to join as a Connect partner on December 5, 2018.

On December 5, 2018, Royal Air Maroc from Africa decided to join Oneworld. It became a member on April 1, 2020, adding more flights in Africa.

On September 26, 2019, Delta Air Lines, which is part of the SkyTeam alliance, bought a part of LATAM. Because of this, LATAM Airlines Group left Oneworld on May 1, 2020.

An Alaska Airlines airplane with the Oneworld logo.

On March 31, 2021, Alaska Airlines and its partner airlines joined Oneworld.

On June 20, 2022, Oman Air signed an agreement to join Oneworld by 2024.

In August 2023, MIAT Mongolian Airlines announced it would join as a Oneworld Connect member.

On December 3, 2023, Alaska Air Group announced plans to buy Hawaiian Airlines. If approved, Hawaiian Airlines will also become a Oneworld member.

Partner Airlines

Besides its main member airlines, Oneworld also has about 30 "affiliate" members. These are usually smaller, regional airlines that work closely with the main members. They help make the Oneworld network even bigger.

Some airlines have joined and then left Oneworld over the years. For example, Air Liberté and Regional Air were once partners with British Airways but later left. BA Connect and BMED also left when British Airways changed its plans.

Dragonair, a partner of Cathay Pacific, joined Oneworld in November 2007. It later became Cathay Dragon and then merged with Cathay Pacific in 2020.

Other airlines like GB Airways and Loganair also left Oneworld as British Airways changed its partnerships. Japan Asia Airways merged with Japan Airlines and left the alliance.

Member Airlines Today

American Airlines, British Airways, Canadian Airlines, Cathay Pacific, and Qantas were the five airlines that started Oneworld.

Main Members and Their Partners

Member airline	Joined	Member affiliates
Alaska Airlines	31 March 2021	Horizon Air SkyWest Airlines
American Airlines	1 February 1999	American Eagle
British Airways	1 February 1999	BA CityFlyer BA EuroFlyer Sun-Air
Cathay Pacific	1 February 1999	—
Finnair	1 September 1999	Nordic Regional Airlines
Iberia	1 September 1999	Iberia Express Iberia Regional
Japan Airlines	1 April 2007	Hokkaido Air System J-Air Japan Air Commuter Japan Transocean Air
Malaysia Airlines	1 February 2013	—
Qantas	1 February 1999	QantasLink
Qatar Airways	30 October 2013	—
Royal Air Maroc	1 April 2020	Royal Air Maroc Express
Royal Jordanian	1 April 2007	—
SriLankan Airlines	1 May 2014	—

• 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, Air Wisconsin, Republic Airways 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
• QantasLink flights are operated by Alliance Airlines, Eastern Australia Airlines, National Jet Systems, Network Aviation and Sunstate Airlines. Alliance Airlines routes only count if they are operated for QantasLink.

Connect Partners

Connect partner	Joined	Connect partner affiliates
Fiji Airways	3 June 2018	—

Future Members

Future member	Joining	Future member affiliates
Oman Air	2024	—
Hawaiian Airlines	2024	—

Suspended Members

Suspended member airline	Joined	Suspended	Member affiliates	Remarks
S7 Airlines	15 November 2010	19 April 2022		Stopped being active because of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Past Members

Former member airline	Joined	Exited	Member affiliates	Remarks
Aer Lingus	1 June 2000	31 March 2007	—	Left the alliance in 2007 to change its business strategy.
Air Berlin	20 March 2012	28 October 2017	Belair Niki	Stopped flying on October 28, 2017.
Canadian Airlines	1 February 1999	1 June 2000	Calm Air Canadian North Canadian Regional Airlines Inter-Canadien	Founding member; was bought by Air Canada, a Star Alliance member.
LATAM Airlines	1 June 2000	1 May 2020	LATAM Argentina LATAM Brasil LATAM Colombia LATAM Ecuador LATAM Express LATAM Perú	Left the alliance after Delta Air Lines, a SkyTeam member, bought a part of it.
Malév	29 March 2007	3 February 2012	—	Left the alliance after it had financial problems and closed.
Mexicana de Aviación	10 November 2009	28 August 2010	MexicanaClick MexicanaLink	Stopped flying on August 28, 2010, due to financial problems.

Benefits for Travelers

Main Airports (Hubs)

Sharing Airport Spaces

Oneworld airlines often share ticket counters, check-in areas, and lounges at airports. This makes it easier for travelers to connect between different Oneworld flights. It also means better facilities for everyone. They do this at about 50 airports worldwide.

Easy Electronic Tickets

On April 21, 2005, Oneworld was the first airline alliance to let customers fly using only electronic tickets (e-tickets) across all its member airlines. This made travel much simpler.

Awards and Recognition

Oneworld has won many awards over the years for being a top airline alliance.

Airplane Colors and Logo

All airplanes belonging to Oneworld members have a Oneworld logo. It's about 30 centimeters (12 inches) wide. You can find it on the right side of the plane, near the front doors.

A Japan Airlines airplane with a special Oneworld design in 2007.

Japan Airlines' Special Oneworld Design (2007)

In 2007, Japan Airlines (JAL) painted two of its airplanes with a special Oneworld design. This was to celebrate joining the alliance. The design showed a large blue globe, which is the Oneworld symbol. It represented how easy and comfortable it is to travel with the alliance.

An American Airlines airplane with the Oneworld logo in 2014.

Standard Oneworld Airplane Design

A new standard Oneworld design for airplanes was introduced in February 2009. This was part of the alliance's tenth anniversary. This design features the alliance name in very large letters, almost 2 meters (6.5 feet) tall. The name and logo are along the side of the plane. The airline's own name is in smaller letters at the front. Each airline still keeps its own unique tailfin, winglets, and engine designs.

Images for kids

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  Oneworld 10th Anniversary logo

See also

In Spanish: Oneworld para niños