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US Airways’ regional affiliates, operating as US Airways Express, also transitioned to oneworld this morning, following US Airways’ recent merger with American Airlines.
The landmark addition of these airlines to oneworld is being celebrated at a ceremony today at TAM’s Sao Paulo hub, attended by the CEOs of the alliance’s established member airlines, during which TAM will show off the first of its aircraft painted in the oneworld livery and launch a massive marketing communications campaign to highlight its alliance move.
TAM and US Airways significantly expand oneworld on many key measures:
Increasing the number of passengers carried annually across the alliance network by a third, adding another 120 million customers a year.
Expanding the annual capacity offered by the alliance by 20%.
Adding almost a hundred destinations to the oneworld network – a near 10% increase.
As the leading airline in Brazil, TAM Airlines makes oneworld the leading alliance in Latin America’s largest economy and the world’s third largest market for domestic air travel.
LAN Airlines, TAM’s partner in LATAM Airlines Group, has been a full member of oneworld since 2000 with all the other LAN passenger airlines joining the alliance as affiliate members since – LAN Argentina, LAN Colombia, LAN Ecuador and LAN Peru.
The addition of TAM consolidates oneworld’s position as the leading alliance for flights within Latin America and between the region and both the United States and Europe - the two most popular destinations for South American international travellers.
Using the two-letter code JJ, TAM serves 61 destinations in 16 countries in Latin America, the USA and Europe, with a fleet of 172 aircraft operating 800 departures daily. It boarded 37 million passengers in 2013.
It has added nearly 45 destinations in Brazil to the oneworld network, and its home base Sao Paulo, the biggest city in the Southern Hemisphere and in the Americas, becomes a new hub for oneworld.
On its own, US Airways, now part of the American Airlines Group, is one of the world’s ten largest airlines on virtually all measures.
Its merger with American Airlines has created the world’s largest airline on most measures. With both American and US Airways on board, oneworld becomes the leading alliance in the USA, the world’s largest air travel market.
Until the full integration of American Airlines and US Airways – which will see the combined airline retaining the American Airlines name – US Airways and its regional carriers will operate as oneworld affiliate members, under the American umbrella.
During the transition period as they work towards their full integration, American and US Airways will maintain their current loyalty programmes, American’s AAdvantage and US Airways’ Dividend Miles.
With its regional affiliates, US Airways serves more than 200 destinations and 30 countries with a fleet of more than 620 aircraft. It carried 82.5 million passengers in 2013 and currently operates 3,200 departures a day. It uses the two-letter code US, but this will be changed to AA once the two airlines combine under a single operating certificate.
It has added more than 50 destinations to the oneworld map – most in its US home but also two in Canada and one each in Ireland and Mexico – along with its key hubs of Charlotte, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Washington DC’s Reagan National, expanding oneworld’s presence across the USA, particularly throughout the East Coast and across the North Atlantic.
Once the integration is completed, the new American will offer service to more than 330 destinations in more than 50 countries, carrying 190 million passengers a year on a fleet of 1,500 aircraft.
As oneworld members, TAM and US Airways are now flying as part of the fastest growing and most highly rated global airline alliance, with partners who include leading brands from each global region:
In South America LAN and now also TAM, both part of the LATAM Airlines Group, the biggest and most highly rated airline group in the continent.
In North America, American Airlines and now also US Airways, now the world’s biggest airline, making oneworld the leading alliance in the USA, the world’s biggest domestic air travel market.
In Europe, airberlin, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia and Russia’s S7 Airlines.
In the Middle East, Qatar Airways – the only one of the Big Three Gulf carriers to be part of any alliance – and Royal Jordanian.
Asia-Pacific’s Cathay Pacific Airways, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines and Australia’s Qantas.
These carriers significantly expand the networks TAM and US Airways can offer to their customers in regions that are most important to them.
Previously, neither airline had partners in Australia or Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Now they can offer seamless travel to both those regions.
In addition, in American Airlines, Iberia and British Airways, TAM now counts as partners the leading airlines serving Latin America from North America and from Europe and can offer its customers hubs that are the most frequently used by international travellers from its home region – Miami, New York, Madrid and London.
Reflecting the quality of its member airlines, oneworld is the current holder of eight of the leading international awards for airline alliances. No other global airline alliance has ever held so many awards at the same time.
The alliance’s welcome to TAM and US Airways today, to be followed on 1 May by SriLankan Airlines, completes what has been oneworld’s biggest expansion programme to date, with the addition in the past two years also of airberlin, Malaysia Airlines and Qatar Airways.
With these recruits, oneworld:
Serves almost a thousand airports in 150 countries, with 14,250 daily departures.
Carries more than 500 million passengers a year on a combined fleet of some 3,300 aircraft.
Generates US$ 140 billion annual revenues.
Offers more than 600 airport lounges, including many frequently rated the world’s best.
What it means for frequent flyers and other customers
