Japan Airlines (JAL), Mal”v Hungarian Airlines and Royal Jordanian Airlines will start offering oneworld services and benefits from 1 April 2007 in the biggest expansion of the global airline alliance since its launch eight years ago. Five other members of the JAL Group will also join as affiliates ” JALways, Japan Asia Airways, JAL Express, J-AIR and Japan Transocean Air.
oneworld managing partner John McCulloch said: "Adding Japan Airlines, Mal”v and Royal Jordanian represents oneworld's biggest expansion since the alliance was launched eight years ago today (1 February 1999). We are very much looking forward to welcoming them and their customers on board from 1 April. Their addition will broaden our network coverage in three of the fastest growing regions for air travel and further strengthen oneworld's position as the world's leading quality airline alliance."
oneworld says that work is well in advance linking up the IT systems of the new recruits to those of the established members, and to bring their various internal processes and procedures into line with the alliance's requirements, to enable them to offer the alliance's services and benefits from 1 April.
Of the 24 interline e-ticketing (IET) links required to enable passengers to transfer between their flights using just electronic tickets, without the need for a traditional paper ticket, only three remain to be cut over. Mal”v already offers IET with all the other oneworld members. The three outstanding IET connections will be completed in the coming weeks. JAL, Mal”v and Royal Jordanian have already joined the alliance's Global Explorer round-the-world fare product, which included some other carriers which are not part of the alliance. They will have the alliance's full range of alliance fares and sales products extended to them on 1 April.