oneworld CEO and team visit Colombo to welcome SriLankan on board

A senior delegation from the oneworld global airline alliance, led by CEO Bruce Ashby was in Colombo last week as SriLankan Airlines starts its preparations to join the group following its election on board.

The visit comes just days after SriLankan Chairman Nishantha Wickremasinghe and Chief Executive Kapila Chandrasena joined their counterparts from oneworld’s 11 established member airlines to announce SriLankan’s candidacy, in Beijing early last week as the leaders of the world airline industry gathered for the 2012 International Air Transport Association World Air Transport Summit.

The oneworld group currently in Colombo includes the alliance’s Vice-President Membership and Customer Experience Dennis Tierney, based with Ashby in New York, and Vice-President Corporate Communications Michael Blunt, based in London.  Joining them, representing Cathay Pacific Airways, which is serving as SriLankan’s sponsor into oneworld, is its Regional General Manager Tom Wright, flying in from Delhi.

During their visit, they are meeting with the senior team at SriLankan and employees across the airline and senior politicians, travel agents and key customers.

Ashby said: “For any airline, joining an alliance is one of the biggest projects they will ever undertake, impacting  virtually every area of their business, and supported by one of their most extensive communications programs.  Our visit today is aimed at helping give SriLankan the very best start across all these activities – besides extending to the airline, its workforce, their customers and other key stakeholders the warmest of welcomes to oneworld.”

SriLankan is expected to be implemented into oneworld late next year, flying alongside some of the biggest and best brands in the airline business.

When SriLankan joins oneworld then, it will become part of an alliance of 13 airlines serving between them more than 860 destinations in 150 countries, operating a combined fleet of almost 2,500 aircraft making some 9,000 flights and carrying almost a million passengers every day, generating annual revenues of more than US$ 100 billion.

This will make it easier and smoother for SriLankan’s customers to fly all over the globe – and for business people and tourists from every continent to reach Sri Lanka.

The 200,000 members of SriLankan’s FlySmiLes frequent flyer program will be able to earn and redeem rewards on any of oneworld’s other carriers, with top tier members able to use any of the group’s 550 plus award-winning airport lounges, and its network will be covered by oneworld’s market leading range of alliance fares.  

At the same time, the 120 million frequent flyer cardholders of oneworld’s established airlines will be able to earn and redeem rewards when flying on SriLankan.

SriLankan already code-shares with oneworld member designate Malaysia Airlines – and earlier this week announced agreement in principle to code-share also with oneworld partners Royal Jordanian and S7 Airlines, smoothing travel for its customers to and around South East Asia and the Middle East.  It expects to develop similar links with other oneworld partners in the coming months.

Two established oneworld member airlines currently serve Sri Lanka – Cathay Pacific from its Hong Kong base daily, and Royal Jordanian, from its Amman home three a week.  Its main city Colombo is also on the networks of oneworld member elect Malaysia Airlines.  Opportunities for increasing the alliance’s coverage of the country will be explored as SriLankan prepares to join.

Wickremasinghe said: “The world airline industry is increasingly focused on alliances, with almost 75 per cent of full service, scheduled airline capacity now allied to the global airline groups.

 “SriLankan has carried out in-depth analysis of the possibilities open to us against this background, supported by leading independent experts, and oneworld is very clearly the best option for us.  “Joining the alliance will enable SriLankan to offer significantly more value and benefits to our customers than we can on our own, making us more competitive, helping strengthen our financial position and put our airline more firmly on the global aviation map.

 “It will also vastly improve our country’s connections with the rest of the world, with all that means for our country’s vital tourism, manufacturing and other industries.”  Chandrasena added: “As an airline highly focused on quality service, we are extremely proud to have been invited to join the highest quality alliance with the best airline partners offering a global network that best complements our own.

 “The joining program will be one of the biggest projects our airline has ever undertaken, but the prize at the end of this journey – flying alongside the highest quality group of airlines in the skies, with all the benefits that will generate for SriLankan and Sri Lanka – will make it more than worthwhile. We look forward to completing all joining requirements as soon as possible.”

oneworld CEO Bruce Ashby concluded:  “oneworld’s aim is to be the first choice airline alliance for the world’s frequent international travellers. In SriLankan Airlines, oneworld is pleased to welcome a high-quality airline that will enhance oneworld’s network and product offerings in one of the world’s fastest growing regions for air travel demand.”

oneworld aims to be the first choice airline alliance for the world’s frequent international travellers.   It brings together some of the best and biggest names in the airline business – airberlin, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, LAN, Qantas, Royal Jordanian and S7 Airlines, and around 20 affiliates including Austria’s NIKI, American Eagle, Dragonair, LAN Argentina, LAN Ecuador and LAN Peru.  Malaysia Airlines is on track to join later in 2012, with Sri Lankan now to follow in 2013.  India’s Kingfisher Airlines is also a member elect.  Mexicana is an inactive member of the alliance.

oneworld enables its members to offer their customers more services and benefits than any airline can provide on its own.  These include a broader route network, opportunities to earn and redeem frequent flyer miles and points across the combined oneworld network and more airport lounges.   oneworld also offers more alliance fares than any of its competitors.

oneworld is current holder of more international awards for airline alliances than any of its competitors – named the Best Airline Alliance by Global Traveler in its GT Tested Reader Survey 2011 Awards for the second year running, the World’s Leading Airline Alliance in the 2011 World Travel Awards, for the ninth consecutive year, and the Best Airline Alliance 2011 in Australian Business Traveller’s debut awards.