AFRICA is one of the
few regions in the
world where oneworld
is interested in building its
presence, ceo, Rob Gurney
said at an event in London
marking the airline alliance’s
18th birthday.
Rob said oneworld had
held “formative” talks with
possible new recruits in
Africa.
He also mentioned that
the alliance was looking at
accepting LCCs – without
doing damage to the
operations of its full-service
members – into its fold.
However, Rob said that no
imminent announcements
were on the cards for any
new partners yet.
BA Comair is currently the
sole oneworld African affiliate
member, but Rob says
other member airlines such
as Qatar Airways, British
Airways, Qantas, Iberia and
LATAM connect Africa within
the alliance’s global network.
South African travel agents
say they would welcome an
expansion of oneworld into
Africa.
Monica Horn, product
manager of Harvey World
Travel Franchise Support
Team, says membership
of an alliance is important
to corporate travellers.
“Corporate travellers value
the comfort of the access
to an alliance’s lounge when
travelling.”
She adds that oneworld
partners in Africa would
also offer members better
airfares and offer a wider
network to earn frequent flyer
miles.
Annemarie Lexow, sales
and marketing manager of
Travel Vision, agrees but says
that oneworld currently has
a small footprint in Africa,
and it could be difficult to
convince corporate travellers
to change alliances.
