The Oneworld global airline alliance has named Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce as it governing board chairman for the next two years.
Joyce succeeds Pekka Vauramo, CEO of Finnair, who is leaving the airline to become the chief executive of Finalnd’s Metso Corporation. Vauramo was made chairman in June 2017.
As chairman, Joyce will head up Oneworld board meetings, oversee alliance governance and work closely with Oneworld CEO Rob Gurney and the central alliance team.
Oneworld’s chairman position has been filled by several airline CEOs in the past, including Gerard Arpey and Tom Horton from American Airlines, Willie Walsh from International Airlines Group (IAG) and Ivan Chu from Cathay Pacific.
The board comprises the chief executives of all Oneworld member airlines, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, LATAM Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qatar Airways, Royal Jordanian, S7 Airlines, Sri Lankan Airlines and Qantas.
Joyce commented: “As a founding member of Oneworld, we are pleased the alliance has evolved over time to deliver greater value to more customers worldwide and expand its joint network. I look forward to serving as chairman of the governing board and working with our Oneworld partner airlines as the alliance reaches the 20th anniversary of its launch. On behalf of all of us at Oneworld, I thank Pekka Vauramo for his leadership of the alliance and wish him all the best in his new endeavours.”
oneworld.com