Airline alliances differ in strategy

Although global alliances in the airline industry seem to only look to have more members, strategies can vary. OneWorld wants to concentrate exclusively on quality members. “Size does not matter. We really favor quality over quantity,” said John McCulloch, managing partner of OneWorld, during the recent IATA meeting.
The alliance recently announced the integration in 2010 of S7 -Russia’s largest domestic carrier with a growing international activity. “S7 offers all the guarantees in terms of quality and reliability. The airline will definitely enhance the OneWorld brand,” said Gerald Arpey, CEO of American Airlines.
Mexicana is another airline due to join before the end of the year. Mexicana recently reopened flights to Europe to complement the network of its future partners British Airways and Iberia.
McCulloch said he remains cautious about OneWorld including new partners. “We still need partners in Brazil, China and India. For China, we have been for a long time in discussion with China Eastern in Shanghai. However, due to the reshaping of air transport by China, it might take a while before we come to a new agreement. We are also in talk with Kingfisher and Jet Airways in India but it is still too early to make any announcement,” he added.
Once a deal inked with a Chinese and Indian partner, McCulloch does not see any other partnership in Asia. “ We do not focus Southeast Asia as we estimate to have already a good network and strong partners such as Qantas in the region,” said McCulloch.
OneWorld’s main weakness –when compared to Star Alliance- is probably its relatively lack of visibility for consumers. The alliance has recently launched a communication campaign in Europe and started to paint some aircraft in OneWorld colors. It has officially asked the government to be granted an anti-trust immunity pact on North Atlantic routes by US and European aviation authorities. The pact should include American Airlines, British Airways, Iberia and Royal Jordanian.
Meanwhile, competitor Star Alliance continues to integrate new members with a target of 26 carriers in 2010 compared to 21 today. The alliance will soon take on board Air India, Brussels Airlines, Continental Airlines, TAM (Brazil) and – last announced- Aegean Airlines (Greece). Rumors indicate the integration of further partners in Africa.
29/06/09 Luc Citrinot/eTurboNews

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: Foreign Jun 2009, Indian Aviation- In General Jun 2009