who next for OneWorld?

who next for OneWorld?

It seems a long time since the last airlines joined OW, and a lot longer since they were announced as there seems to be a long lead time for joining. However I havnt heard of any new likely airline candidates to join [or leave] I was wondering if anyone has heard anything or has opinions as to who next.

Actually US Airways and TAM just joined this year, so it hasn't been too long.

I think most remaining airlines have more interest in seeking their own partnerships (like Emirates has found in Qantas) or loose alliances (such as the Etihad Partners alliance).

That being said, I'd love to see more regional carriers join oneworld, such as Westjet in Canada and Bangkok Airways.

OW really need a Chinese Airline such as Hainan and an Indian airline.  Westjet, Alaska would by good but unlikely.  There was talk of Phillipine Airlines, but it never eventuated. 

Hainan was talking it up a while back, as was Phillippine airlines. Jet Airways would've been a prime candiate but with their new equity alliance with Etihad it will probably not happen :-(

Wishful thinking on my part but it would be really nice to have another OW airline serving Australia.

I would rather OW consolidate their operations to improve joint business agreements and service offering then growing without a rationale. After all you don't want to end up like Star Alliance, a disparate collection of airlines with various service quality standards, whose only common theme isbeing part of an alliance that doesn't quite mean anything.

I'm not sure if US Airways and TAM count as new memebers. They were just merged into exsisting members.

My money would be on WestJet or perhaps Phillipine Airlines could be coaxed back to the bargaining table. However, as the opening poster mentioned, I think it's more about tailor made alliances now, rather then the traditional holy trinity of SkyTeam vs. Star Alliance vs. OneWorld.

They are new members in the sense that their route networks and hubs have augmented oneworld's existing network. They were referenced as new members in the oneworld media releases at the time.

Of course, both are undergoing route/fleet/staff consolidations. However, while US Airways will eventually cease to exist in name when rolled into American, I do not see the same happening to LAN & TAM but the continuation of the two brands under the LATAM umbrella (mostly due to the carriers being split between two base countries - yes, I know both also have subsidiaries in other South American countries).

Additionally Sri Lankan also joined not too long ago.

The obvious weaknesses for OneWorld are China, India and Africa.

OneWorld really needs a domestic partner in China and the only significant airline that isn't already a member of a rival alliance is Hainan. I imagine Cathay Pacific would not been keen to see either Hainan (or Philippines) within OneWorld.

Bangkok Airways would make a good addition, but they have so many partnerships that I suspect they would not see great value in joining OneWorld. Joining OneWorld could also put the connecting traffic from other partners, particularly SkyTeam members, at risk.

I can't see any obvious candidates that would plug the OneWorld gaps in India or Africa. 

It's a great pity Emirates did not join OW. They claim disinterest, and appear to be heading in other directions. I always thought that the major shakeup QF made to their Australia-UK-Europe routes, bringing Emirates on board was an ill-thoughtout, halfbaked scheme, without both being OW. Think of the difference it could have made for SC and points seekers!

Get the QF codeshare and you get the SCs / points with QF (and seemingly with AA)

China is just problematic with the various relationships there.

You have Cathay (oneworld) with cross-ownership with Air China (star), then the other two majors China Eastern and China Southern (both skyteam). Then you've got unaligned Hainan, but it also owns a chunk of Hong Kong Airlines and HK Express which compete head to head with Cathay out of Hong Kong.

Unless one of Cathay or Air China jump ship, don't see the situation changing quickly.

I was thinking of routes such as Dubai to New York. You fly Emirites and there are no OW benefits whatsoever. You need to be in their FF program whick is useless unless you fly EY a lot.