aword from oneworld: September 2005

2005 年 9 月 9 日

Three more countries and another 13 destinations join up: One country and five new destinations have joined the oneworld network, with the alliance's carriers unveiling plans to bring a further two countries and eight airports on-line, taking its global network to 597 destinations in some 135 countries.

Newest country on the oneworld map is Vietnam, which Cathay Pacific has started serving in its own right, with two flights a day between its Hong Kong home and Ho Chin Minh City. It previously served the Vietnamese city only through a joint venture operated by Vietnamese Airlines.

Other new destinations added include:

  • Guangzhou (which has the three-letter IATA code CAN), served by Finnair from its Helsinki hub three times a week since 4 September, as the alliance's fourth city in mainland China.
  • Olbia (OLB) and Palermo (PMO), in Italy, served by Iberia Regional Air Nostrum from both Madrid and Barcelona since late July.
  • Knock, Ireland, linked to oneworld hub Dublin by affiliate Loganair, which flies as a British Airways franchisee, since late July.

The two countries lining up to be brought on-line are Albania and Iceland, with new British Airways flights from London Gatwick. It will serve the Icelandic capital Reykjavik (KEF) five times a week from 26 March, with thrice-weeklies to Tirana (TIA) added the next day.

Other new destinations to be added in coming months include:

  • Ajaccio (AJA), which will be the second airport served by oneworld on the French Mediterranean island of Corsica when affiliate GB Airways, which flies as a British Airways franchisee, launches weekly London Gatwick flights in the flying season starting late March.
  • Columbia (CAE), South Carolina, which will be linked thrice daily to the alliance's Dallas/Fort Worth hub by affiliate American Eagle from 30 October, using 50-seat Embraer ERJ145 jets.
  • Innsbruck (INN) and Salzburg (SZG), in Austria. GB Airways will offer five flights a week to the ski resort of Innsbruck during the winter sports season from 17 December, and two a week during the rest of the year. Aer Lingus will bring Salzburg on-line from 20 December.
  • Izmir (ADB), which will become the second destination in Turkey on the alliance map from 26 March, with three London Gatwick flights a week by British Airways.
  • Varna (VAR), which will be the alliance's second gateway in Bulgaria from 29 March, served by British Airways from London Gatwick with two flights a week from 29 March.

Polish links doubled: oneworld's carriers are doubling their routes serving Poland, increasing substantially options for visiting the country using the alliance's unrivalled range of fare products. Krakow, already served by British Airways from London, will also be linked to Dublin by Aer Lingus from 30 October, and Helsinki by Finnair from early 2006. Aer Lingus is inaugurating a second route to Warsaw. It already serves the Polish capital from its main Dublin hub and is now gearing up to add a Cork route from late October. British Airways and Finnair also serve Warsaw from their London and Helsinki hubs.

 

Aer Lingus to fly another eight routes: Aer Lingus is opening another eight routes. From its Dublin hub, it will add flights to Bordeaux (France) from 25 September. From 30 October, it will inaugurate services to Almeria (Spain), Fuerteventura (Canary Islands, Spain), Poland's Krakow (see above) and Riga (Latvia), and open a second route to Warsaw, from Cork besides Dublin (see above). All destinations are already served by other oneworld carriers. It will add Salzburg in December (see above). The airline linked four destinations to its Dublin hub earlier this year - Hamburg, Marseille, Naples and Seville - and opened flights from Cork a month later to Faro, Munich, Nice and Rome.

Finnair to add six more destinations: Finnair's network continues to expand with six new destinations being added to its schedules. Besides China's Guangzhou and Poland's Krakow (see above), it will inaugurate flights to Edinburgh (Scotland) in April, Geneva (Switzerland) daily in June, Florence Pisa in early 2006 and Nagoya (Japan) in June 2006. This quartet of destinations is already served by other oneworld carriers.

American to serve Delhi and Newcastle: American Airlines is to open a new UK route and launch flights to India. It will launch daily non-stops between its Chicago O'Hare hub and Delhi from 15 November, using three-class Boeing 777-200s. Its first service to India, at 7,736 miles it will also be the longest non-stop on its network. The Indian capital is already on-line to British Airways and Cathay Pacific. It will serve Newcastle from New York JFK from 1 May – the first time the two cities have been linked non-stop – using 188-seat Boeing 757s in an all-coach configuration. British Airways already serves the North of England gateway.

From its Dallas/Fort Worth hub, American is also adding routes from 3 February to Jamaica's Montego Bay and Guanacaste Liberia, Costa Rica. Within continental USA, it will link Los Angeles with San Antonio daily non-stop from the end of October.

Its regional affiliate American Eagle has opened five new daily non-stop routes. From Dallas/Forth Worth, it is now operating to and from Chattanooga, Rochester (New York) and Syracuse, while from Miami it is now flying to and from Dayton and Greensboro.

Qantas to launch San Francisco and Vancouver flights: Qantas is to be the fourth oneworld partner to serve San Francisco and Vancouver. It will link the Californian city with its Australian home hub Sydney from 29 March with an initial three flights a week. The additions will take the total number of Qantas return services between Australia and mainland USA to a record 39 a week. It will also add flights to Vancouver during the peak season. American, British Airways and Cathay Pacific already serve both North American airports.

The Australian carrier will also operate to Seoul on a seasonal basis, with three flights a week by two-class Boeing 767-300s between the Korean capital and Brisbane from 28 December to 5 February. The airline is also up-grading its service to Queenstown to year-round from 1 October. It currently serves the New Zealand airport from Sydney and Brisbane, but during the ski season only. It will now maintain operations throughout the year, with a weekly flight to and from Sydney.

AA opens its US$1.1 billion new JFK terminal: American Airlines has opened Phase I of its new, state-of-the-art US$1.1 billion terminal at New York JFK, described by Chairman and Chief Executive Gerard Arpey as "one of the biggest, boldest - and most expensive - projects in the company's history". Designed "to provide the most convenient and comfortable travel experience possible", it is the largest facility at JFK housing a single airline, featuring a, 57,000 sq ft ticketing lobby with a dramatic 65 ft ceiling and 67 ticketing positions and an 11,300 sq ft Admirals Club offers seating for 185. The new terminal will be used by around 8.5 million passengers in its first year, flying mainly on the airline's domestic services to and from JFK. International departures to Tokyo, Brussels, Aruba, Bermuda and the Dominican Republic will transfer there later this year.

American to fit lie-flat seats on longhaul international fleet: American Airlines is to install new lie-flat seats and enhanced in-flight entertainment in the Business Class cabin on all its Boeing 777s and 767-300s. The 767 upgrade, starting next year, will also provide larger overhead storage bins. The new Recaro seats will start to be fitted on its 777s in 2007, when its popular First Class Flagship Suites will be rolled out to its remaining 20 aircraft in this fleet. Meantime, American is introducing new First and Business Class menus on flights between the United States and Europe, encompassing "a more authentic and traditional flare reflective of both continents". Flights from Europe now feature items such as cowboy steak with red chili onions and pumpkin ravioli with sage cream sauce.

Iberia is latest to post oneworld downloadable timetables on its own website: Iberia is the latest oneworld airline to post the alliance's new downloadable timetable on its own website, joining American Airlines, Finnair and Qantas. Cathay Pacific already makes its own version available through its internet pages. Aer Lingus expects to post the oneworld schedules soon, with British Airways and LAN to follow.

 

 

 

 

 

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