2025 will see two more airlines join the ranks of the Oneworld alliance, along with the possibility of more Oneworld-branded lounges opening their doors.
Fiji Airways will upgrade its Oneworld Connect partner status to become a full Oneworld member.
“We already have substantial relationships such as codeshares with most of the four founding members of Oneworld, so becoming a full member will take it to another level,” Fiji Airways CEO Andre Viljoen has previously shared with Executive Traveller, adding that the Pacific carrier has a “desire to become a full member to get access to the full benefits.”
The elevated benefits will include access to any Oneworld lounge when flying with Fiji Airways – including codeshares with other Oneworld members – for business class travellers and frequent flyers.
Fiji Airways is also on track to roll out the AAdvantage loyalty program of Oneworld founding member American Airlines as its own rewards scheme.
Oman Air – like Fiji Airways, a relatively small but well-regarded carrier – will take its seat at the Oneworld table on 30 June.
The Muscat-based airline views 2025 as a year for cautious growth, with a pair of new Boeing 787s joining its fleet and a possible return to Singapore.
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Qantas has already established a partnership with Oman Air, unlocking business and economy fares to Muscat and beyond – including Europe – at top-value Classic Reward rates.
Hawaiian Airlines is expected to be next in line to join Oneworld, following a US$1.9bn buyout by Alaska Airlines.
The merger of the Seattle- and Honolulu-based carriers will result in what Alaska describes as “a single operation with two public-facing brands, Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines,” each operating from its respective hub.
And of course, Taiwan’s Starlux remains a wildcard in the deck.
The ambitious Asian carrier sees Oneworld membership as a means of levelling up against local rivals China Airlines and EVA Air, which respectively belong to SkyTeam and Star Alliance.
Partners instead of alliances
However, alliances aren’t suitable for every airline.
Newcomer Riyadh Air – set to launch in the middle of this year – will instead put its faith in a web of bespoke partnerships rather than a single “global connectivity” alliance.
Oneworld, SkyTeam and Star Alliance “tend to operate where there’s an inner circle of three or four super-heavyweights, there’s a middle circle, and there’s an outer circle,” Riyadh Air CEO Tony Douglas tells Executive Traveller.
“As a startup, if we join an alliance, at best we start in the outer circle” – and that’s certainly not a position in keeping with the game-changing impact Riyadh Air intends to bring to the airline world – “so we don’t see the benefits to be hugely compelling in that regard.”
Instead, Douglas says he is “pursuing a strategy of all-star partners with deep collaboration in key geographies.”
That roster already includes Air China, China Eastern, Delta Air Lines, Singapore Airlines, Turkish Airlines and Egyptair; Douglas says he intends to add “one more (airline) from Northwestern European and one (in the) Indian subcontinent.”
As previously reported, Etihad Airways says that joining an alliance “may or may not happen”, with CEO Antonoaldo Neves stating “it’s not in my top three priorities”.