THE oneworld airline alliance has announced the rollout of “oneworld branded and managed airport lounges,” with the announcement coinciding with the alliance’s 20th anniversary and a major brand makeover which aims to encourage passengers to “Travel Bright”.
The new positioning was unveiled in London on Fri by oneworld CEO Rob Gurney, who outlined the “radical transformation” of the alliance to further strengthen its relevance to member airlines & customers.
Initiatives include a new oneworld digital platform to make travel on member carriers more seamless, allowing them to manage multi-sector, multi-airline journeys via the convenience of their preferred carrier’s mobile app or website.
Also new is the lounge rollout, which Gurney said was a reflection of more alliance co-location projects at key airports, with the first oneworld lounge to be unveiled later this year.
The alliance will also offer a “fresh approach to corporate sales,” allowing it to respond much faster to requests for alliance contracts which currently generate about US$1 billion annually for member carriers.
Trials of the new process, which commenced about six months ago, have already seen revenues rise 10%.
And a revised process for prospecting new members will see Moroccan carrier Royal Air Maroc join oneworld next year, as the group’s first full member recruit in six years, and its first from Africa.
Gurney was joined at the announcement by former colleague, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce, who is currently also the alliance’s Governing Board Chair.
Joyce said as oneworld entered its third decade it was stepping up cooperation and “modernising how we work together to make oneworld even more relevant to international travellers and its member airlines”.
Source: traveldaily