Oneworld has announced that Sri Lankan Airlines will join the global airline alliance from late 2013.
A statement from the airline network said that “Cathay Pacific will serve as its sponsor in joining Oneworld, supporting the airline through its alliance implementation programme.”
Sri Lankan Airlines has also announced plans to launch codeshare deals with Oneworld members S7 Airlines and Royal Jordanian. The carrier already codeshares with Oneworld member elect Malaysia Airlines, which will officially join Oneworld later this year.
Based in Colombo, Sri Lankan Airlines will add three new destinations to the Oneworld network, all in southern India: Kochi, Tiruchirapalli and Thiruvananthapuram.
When the airline joins Oneworld, members of Sri Lankan’s Flysmiles frequent flyer programme will be able to earn and redeem miles when flying with Oneworld partners and the same will apply to frequent flyer members of other carriers within the alliance when flying with Sri Lankan.
Nishantha Wickremasinghe, chairman of Sri Lankan Airlines, said: “Joining the alliance will help put Sri Lankan more firmly on the global aviation map and vastly improve Sri Lanka’s connections with the rest of the world.”
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