The Oneworld alliance was based in 1999 by a number of airways, together with American Airways, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas. Now, the alliance has 13 member airways and one Oneworld join associate airline, Fiji Airways.
Oneworld airways can take you to over 900 locations in 170 nations and territories. The Oneworld alliance is how elite statuses held with any Oneworld member airline are acknowledged when flying with different alliance airways. So, let’s take a more in-depth take a look at the Oneworld alliance.
Oneworld airways
The Oneworld alliance has 13 member airways and one Oneworld join associate airline, although take into account that Oman Air will quickly be part of Oneworld and S7 was suspended in 2022. Listed below are the present Oneworld airways:
- Alaska Airways
- American Airways
- British Airways
- Cathay Pacific
- Fiji Airways (Oneworld join associate)
- Finnair
- Iberia
- Japan Airways
- Malaysia Airways
- Qantas
- Qatar Airways
- Royal Air Maroc
- Royal Jordanian Airways
- SriLankan Airways
This checklist of Oneworld member airways is necessary, as you may normally guide award journey on member airways by different Oneworld companions. For instance, you may guide an award flight that features flights operated by different Oneworld airways by American Airways AAdvantage.
Oneworld alliance standing tiers
Oneworld has three elite standing tiers: Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald. In case you maintain airline elite standing with any Oneworld member airline, you will have one in every of these Oneworld statuses.
This is a more in-depth take a look at every of the Oneworld alliance standing tiers.
Oneworld Ruby
The first good thing about Oneworld Ruby standing is entry to business-class precedence check-in queues. Search for the Oneworld emblem with a ruby ellipse subsequent to it, and you will be in your method to a check-in line that is typically considerably shorter than the usual queue.
Oneworld Ruby members may additionally get most well-liked or pre-reserved seating and precedence on waitlists and when on standby. Nonetheless, you will not get these perks constantly, as they’re offered based mostly on the working airline’s coverage.
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Among the airline statuses that provide Oneworld Ruby standing embody:
- Alaska Airways Mileage Plan MVP
- American Airways AAdvantage Gold
- British Airways Government Membership Bronze
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Oneworld Sapphire
Oneworld Sapphire is the place the extra spectacular perks begin to kick in. Along with the advantages supplied to Oneworld Ruby members, Oneworld Sapphire members additionally get entry to business-class lounges on eligible tickets and precedence boarding.
You can too get pleasure from an additional baggage allowance and precedence baggage dealing with when flying on Oneworld member airways as an Oneworld Sapphire member. You may normally get a minimum of 15 kilograms (about 33 kilos) extra weight if the luggage allowance in your ticket is predicated on weight. You may additionally sometimes get a minimum of another checked bag weighing as much as 23 kilograms (about 50 kilos) if the luggage allowance in your ticket is predicated on items.
Nonetheless, you will not get precedence baggage dealing with when flying on British Airways flights, and you will not get any extra baggage allowance should you guide hand-baggage-only or fundamental fares with British Airways.
This is a take a look at a number of the airline statuses that provide Oneworld Sapphire standing:
- Alaska Airways Mileage Plan MVP Gold
- American Airways AAdvantage Platinum
- British Airways Government Membership Silver
The Qatar Airways Privilege Membership Visa Infinite Credit score Card gives a 12 months of complimentary Qatar Airways Privilege Membership Gold standing, which provides Oneworld Sapphire standing. So, you may successfully purchase Oneworld Sapphire standing for a 12 months by including this $499 annual charge card to your pockets.
The knowledge for the Qatar Airways Privilege Membership Visa Infinite Card has been collected independently by The Factors Man. The cardboard particulars on this web page haven’t been reviewed or offered by the cardboard issuer.
Oneworld Emerald
Oneworld Emerald presents most of the similar perks as Oneworld Sapphire standing. Nonetheless, along with the advantages given to Oneworld Sapphire members, Oneworld Emerald members get entry to first-class lounges on eligible tickets, first-class precedence check-in and fast-track or precedence lanes at choose airports.
Oneworld Emerald members additionally get a minimum of 20 kilograms (about 44 kilos) extra weight if the luggage allowance on their ticket is predicated on weight. Nonetheless, Oneworld Emerald members nonetheless will not get any extra baggage allowance on account of their standing when flying on British Airways hand-baggage-only or fundamental fares.
These are a number of the airline statuses that provide Oneworld Emerald standing:
- Alaska Airways Mileage Plan MVP Gold 75K and MVP Gold 100K
- American Airways AAdvantage Platinum Professional and AAdvantage Government Platinum
- British Airways Government Membership Gold
Oneworld Emerald is the first cause why TPG lead author Katie Genter strives to preserve a minimum of AAdvantage Platinum Professional standing. Katie loves visiting Oneworld first-class lounges — together with Cathay Pacific’s The Pier First Class Lounge in Hong Kong, Malaysia Airways’ First Class Golden Lounge in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Qantas’ Worldwide First Lounge in Los Angeles — when flying on eligible itineraries. Plus, some Oneworld airways will routinely block the seat subsequent to you when the flight is not full, which is a pleasant unpublished perk.
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Oneworld lounges
Oneworld and its member airways have almost 700 lounges worldwide. So, analysis your Oneworld lounge choices on-line earlier than heading to the airport. In case you plan to realize lounge entry based mostly in your Oneworld standing, search for the Sapphire or Emerald ellipse. As you look by the lounge choices, verify the lounge opening hours and whether or not you will have entry based mostly on the airline working your flight.
Most Oneworld lounges on the airport show the Sapphire or Emerald ellipses close to the doorway. Since there are lots of Oneworld lounges at some airports — and sometimes a number of lounges with related names operated by the identical airline — ensure to verify the precise location of the lounge you need to go to on the Oneworld website.
First-class passengers and Oneworld Emerald and Sapphire members can deliver one visitor to the lounge if the visitor additionally travels on a flight operated and marketed by a Oneworld airline.
Every lounge has its personal entry guidelines, although many present entry to eligible clients touring on any Oneworld member airline. Nonetheless, there are some circumstances when it’s possible you’ll not have lounge entry, even when you’ve got Oneworld Sapphire or Emerald standing or are flying in a premium cabin. Test the Oneworld alliance web site for probably the most nuanced, up-to-date info on lounge entry, along with conserving these few issues in thoughts:
- Alaska Airways Mileage Plan elite members who’ve Oneworld Sapphire or Emerald standing solely get lounge entry when touring to locations outdoors the U.S., Canada or Mexico.
- American Airways AAdvantage elite members with Oneworld Sapphire or Emerald standing do not normally get Oneworld lounge entry when touring solely on flights throughout the U.S. or between the U.S., Canada, Mexico (besides Mexico Metropolis), the Bahamas, Bermuda and the Caribbean. Nonetheless, for a restricted time, AAdvantage Government Platinum, Platinum Professional and Platinum members can entry Admirals Membership lounges when touring on a global flight operated by American Airways.
- The Oneworld lounge entry coverage would not embody British Airways Concorde lounges; the Chelsea lounge in Terminal 8 at New York’s John F. Kennedy Worldwide Airport (JFK); Qatar Airways’ Al Safwa First and Al Mourjan Enterprise lounges at Doha’s Hamad Worldwide Airport (DOH); Qatar Airways Premium Lounges in Bangkok, Paris and Singapore; arrivals lounges; spa amenities; and preflight eating amenities. Nonetheless, you could have entry to a few of these lounges based mostly in your working airline and cabin class.
- Qatar Airways Enterprise Lite fares and Finnair Enterprise Mild fares aren’t eligible for lounge entry.
- Your flight have to be marketed and operated by a Oneworld member airline. Fiji Airways is a Oneworld Join associate, so you will solely get lounge entry earlier than departure in case your ticket additionally contains journey on British Airways, Cathay Pacific or Qantas (the Oneworld sponsors for Fiji Airways).
The dearth of lounge entry when flying throughout the U.S. and between the U.S. and a few locations close to the U.S. is commonly disappointing for Oneworld Sapphire and Emerald members who earn elite standing by American Airways AAdvantage and Alaska Airways Mileage Plan.
For this reason some vacationers earn Oneworld standing by a non-U.S. airline. For instance, Katie held Oneworld Sapphire standing by Malaysia Airways Enrich from 2019 to 2024 regardless of additionally holding Oneworld Emerald standing by American Airways AAdvantage. By having Oneworld Sapphire standing from a non-U.S. airline, she loved entry to Admirals Golf equipment and even Flagship Lounges on flights to, from and throughout the U.S.
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Backside line
The Oneworld alliance facilitates journey to over 900 locations on a single ticket. Though the checklist of Oneworld airways is noticeably lacking a South American airline and solely has one African airline, the Oneworld route map nonetheless gives good protection worldwide.
Oneworld standing and lounge entry additionally imply vacationers with elite standing from any Oneworld airline will get pleasure from some perks when touring with different airways within the Oneworld alliance. One facet that units the Oneworld alliance other than different airline alliances is that it gives first-class lounge entry to its top-tier Emerald elite members. That stated, Oneworld Ruby standing additionally presents a helpful perk you do not see with different airline alliances: entry to business-class precedence check-in queues.
