oneworld is best alliance three times over, says Global Traveler

oneworld has been named Best Airline Alliance for the third year running by Global Traveler in the leading business travel magazine’s GT Tested Reader Survey 2012 Awards.  oneworld also retained Global Traveler’s Wines on the Wing award as the alliance whose airlines serve the best wines in-flight.

oneworld is in addition the current holder of the World Travel Awards’ World’s Leading Airline Alliance title, retaining that award for the ninth year running, and Australian Business Traveller’s Best Airline Alliance in its debut awards.  It is also the current holder of Business Traveller’s Cellars in the Sky award as the alliance whose members serve the best wines in-flight.

oneworld’s individual member airlines also flew high in Global Traveler’s GT Tested reader survey and Wines on the Wing awards.

British Airways made four trips to the winners’ podium – as Best Airline for Business Class and, in the Wines on the Wing awards, for Best International First Class Wines, Best Red Wine International First Class and Best Red Wine International Business Class.

American Airlines was honoured as Best Airline for Domestic First Class and, in the Wines on the Wing awards, for Best North American Wines, Best North American Sparkling Wine and Best North American Red Wine.

LAN took the trophy for Best Airline in Central/South America and Qantas for Best Airline to Australia and New Zealand.

The awards will be presented at a ceremony in Los Angeles next week, with the oneworld trophy to be collected on behalf of the alliance by Vice-President Commercial Stephen Usery, who said: “oneworld has always aimed to be the first choice airline alliance for international business travellers, so we are thrilled that they have judged us once again to be the best in this prestigious survey.  They can rest assured that our airlines will continue to work together tirelessly on their behalves to provide the very best airline alliance services and benefits.”

Global Traveler Publisher and CEO Francis X Gallagher said: “Congratulations, oneworld, on receiving this recognition three years running.  It’s no surprise to see the alliance continually ranking at the top when you look at oneworld’s member airlines, most of them award-winning airlines themselves.  Service and quality are synonymous with the alliance and the member airlines.”

Global Traveler conducted a survey of it readers from 1 January 2012 to 31 August 2012 with open-ended questions for the best in many categories of business and luxury travel.  The survey was ducted in the magazine, as an insert to subscriber copies, as a direct mail questionnaire, on-line and emailed during the period in question.

Only those questionnaires where more than 50 per cent of the questions were completed were counted. The 2012 survey generated results from more than 36,000 completed questionnaires under these criteria.  Responses from employees of the magazine or individuals associated with the travel industry were not accepted.  It is the ninth year running that Global Traveler has conducted its GT Tested Survey.

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 25 affiliates.  Malaysia Airlines is on track to join on 1 February 2013, followed later by SriLankan Airlines and Qatar Airways.

• Between them, oneworld’s active member airlines and members elect:
• Serve some 860 airports in almost 160 countries, with more than 9,300 daily departures.
• Offer some 550 airport lounges for premium customers.
• Carry almost a million passengers a day on a combined fleet of more than 2,500 aircraft.
• Generate nearly US$ 120 billion annual revenues in total.