Air India joining Star Alliance and Jet Airways’s stake sale to Etihad Airways are not putting any additional pressure on oneworld to look for an Indian partner. oneworld is an alliance of global airlines which has British Airways, Srilankan, Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines as its members.

In a breakfast meeting with BusinessLine , Bruce Ashby, Chief Executive Officer, oneworld, outlines his thoughts about the alliance and India.

Edited excerpts

Given that Air India has gone with Star Alliance and Jet has sold a stake to Etihad, does it put additional pressure on the oneworld alliance to look for an Indian partner?

Our share of revenue and passengers in India is pretty strong as many of our carriers go there and have code share relationships.

We think India is very important and we will keep our eye on that. But I will not go so far as to say that we feel great pressure to do anything (in terms of finding a partner).

I am not feeling pressured but of course we are interested and will keep an eye on it.

Could you give an idea as to how oneworld stands vis-à-vis other alliances in India?

In rough terms, Star Alliance after adding Air India probably carries the largest share of traffic by a bit. We are behind them but not by far.

Given the Kingfisher experience, where the airline was admitted but before it could join the alliance it collapsed, has India been put on wait and watch?

That was an unfortunate chain of events. But no we have not put India…. We have not changed our view of India as a result of it.

Could you look at a low cost carrier (LCC) like IndiGo which you set up joining the alliance?

We have had former LCCs joining our alliance. Air Berlin will be a good example. It is certainly possible. We are not talking to them about it. I am not advocating for them to do it. But anything is possible.

(The writer is in Miami at the invitation of International Air Transport Association (IATA))

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