Qatar Airways has announced it will join the Oneworld aviation alliance on October 30, making it the first of the three major Gulf region air carriers to enter such a cooperation.
For members of Qatar Airways’ frequent flyer programme the move means they will enjoy the privileges accorded other members in Oneworld, which now includes Air Berlin, American Airlines, British Airways and Cathay Pacific Airways.
Reciprocally, members of those airlines’ frequent-flyer programmes may as of October 30 begin accumulating points and bonuses when flying Qatar Airways.
Qatar Airways’ entry will add more than 20 new destinations and five countries — Ethiopia, Iran, Rwanda, Serbia and Tanzania — to the Oneworld network.
Usually, within an aviation alliance the member airlines coordinate their flight plans and services with each other. They may also offer flights of a partner airline under their own name under the so-called codesharing arrangement.
Oneworld is currently the third-largest aviation alliance. The largest is Star Alliance which includes the German carrier Lufthansa.
The second-largest is Skyteam that includes Air France/KLM.
So far the other two major Gulf carriers, Emirates and Etihad, have not joined any such alliances.