Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Royal Jordanian to Join
oneworld Airline Alliance
AMMAN, Jordan, Oct. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Royal Jordanian Airlines is to join
oneworld(SM), the leading quality global airline alliance, it was announced
today.
It is the first airline from the Levant, Middle East and Gulf region to be elected to any of the global airline groupings and the first airline accepted to join oneworld in more than five years.
Royal Jordanian accepted an invitation to join at a ceremony today conducted in the presence of His Majesty King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein at the Royal Palace in Amman, the airline's home base.
Representing oneworld and its existing members were Fernando Conte, Chairman and Chief Executive of Iberia Airlines and current Chairman of the oneworld Governing Board; Martin Broughton, Chairman of British Airways, which is acting as the sponsor for Royal Jordanian's entry into the alliance; and John McCulloch, oneworld's Managing Partner.
Representing Royal Jordanian were its Chairman,
Dr. Ummaya Toukan, and its President and Chief Executive, Samer Majali.
Royal Jordanian has already satisfied oneworld's key pre-joining audits,
assuring the grouping that it can deliver the alliance's services, benefits and
processes and also match its quality and safety standards.
Work will now begin on connecting its IT systems to those of its new partners; bringing key internal processes into line with oneworld requirements; training its employees to deliver oneworld products, customer benefits and support; and completing the other tasks needed before it can become a full-fledged member of the alliance.
Royal Jordanian should start offering oneworld
services and benefits as a full-fledged member around the turn of 2006-07.
"oneworld's focus during the past few years has been on helping our member
airlines weather the financial turbulence that has rocked this industry by
building revenues and cutting costs," said Fernando Conte, Chairman of Iberia
and the oneworld Governing Board. "The results of this strategy are reflected in
oneworld being the only alliance whose members are collectively profitable. Now
our member airlines are at the stage where they feel it is sensible for the
alliance to recruit in regions where we would like to broaden our network. We
are delighted that Royal Jordanian will fill that role for oneworld in the
growing Middle Eastern market."
Said Martin Broughton, Chairman of sponsor British Airways, "Royal Jordanian is an excellent fit for oneworld. It meets the high-quality customer standards that oneworld demands of all its members, with a network that complements what we currently offer. It is profitable, with a management in tune with our approach to business. We at British Airways look forward to working with our new colleagues to bring Royal Jordanian on board the world's leading quality alliance."
Said Royal Jordanian's Chief Executive Samer Majali, "Accepting oneworld's invitation to join is an exciting step for Royal Jordanian. The Middle East is the fastest-growing aviation market, and we are the first airline from this region to find a home in a global alliance. There is no doubt that our future strategy and recent performance make us an attractive partner for other high-quality airlines. This development is in tune with our ambition to privatize and to strengthen Amman's role as a regional hub. We are delighted to strengthen oneworld's excellent worldwide network with better coverage of our region.
"Our passengers are increasingly asking more from us, and oneworld will extend our reach enormously," Majali continued. "Royal Jordanian's passengers will enjoy privileged access to a group of airlines that we trust and are certain to take excellent care of them."
Gerard Arpey, Chairman and CEO of American Airlines, also welcomed Royal Jordanian to the oneworld alliance. "We are very excited that Royal Jordanian will be part of oneworld," said Arpey. "The airline brings much to the alliance that will benefit other members of the group, but more importantly, will also benefit our customers. With Royal Jordanian added to the oneworld roster of airlines, travel to and from the Middle East and Gulf Regions will be more convenient -- and rewarding -- than ever before. We welcome and eagerly anticipate their membership in the alliance."
oneworld affiliate BMED, which operates as a franchisee of British Airways, is the only oneworld member currently serving Royal Jordanian's home market, with daily flights between Amman and the alliance's main European hub of London Heathrow. Its Managing Director, David Richardson, was also in Amman for today's activities.
Currently, Iberia is the only oneworld partner with a bilateral agreement with Royal Jordanian, codesharing on flights between their Amman and Madrid home bases. Bilateral agreements between Royal Jordanian and the alliance's other existing members are expected to be developed along with its recruitment to the grouping.
Royal Jordanian has an extensive network throughout the Levant, Middle East and Gulf region. In addition, it currently operates to established oneworld hubs London Heathrow, Madrid, Barcelona, New York JFK, Chicago O'Hare and Bangkok.
It will add two countries to the oneworld map (Iraq and Yemen) and 10 destinations -- Al Arish (Egypt); Al Ain (UAE); Aden and Sanaa (Yemen); Dammam and Jeddah (Saudi Arabia); Aqaba (Jordan); and Baghdad, Basra and Irbil (Iraq). This will extend the alliance's network to 135 territories and 611 destinations.
About oneworld
oneworld brings together some of the best and biggest names in the airline
business -- American Airlines, British Airways, Qantas, Iberia, Cathay Pacific,
LAN, Finnair and Aer Lingus, plus their 12 affiliates. Hungary's Malev signed a
memorandum of understanding in May 2005 as its first step toward joining the
alliance.
oneworld enables its members to offer their customers more services and benefits than any airline can provide on its own. These include a broader route network, opportunities to earn and redeem frequent flyer miles and points across the whole alliance network, and access to more airport lounges.
Together, its members:
It offers more alliance fare and sales products than any of its competitors, earning almost $600 million for its member airlines in 2004, with the seven million passengers transferring between oneworld members generating revenues totalling $1.6 billion in the year.
oneworld has won more top international awards for airline alliances than both its competitors combined -- voted the World's Best Airline Alliance for the second year running by readers of Business Traveller magazine in its 2005 poll, and named the World's Leading Airline Alliance for the second year running in the 2004 World Travel Awards, based on votes cast by travel professionals from 80,000 agencies in more than 200 countries.
It is the only global alliance to enable passengers to fly across its entire network with just electronic tickets, with interline e-ticketing links completed between all its member airlines in April 2005, and the first to enable customers to book flights on its alliance website, currently available only to businessflyer customers in Germany.
About Royal Jordanian
Royal Jordanian serves 51 destinations in 33 countries, including 27 points in
the Levant, Middle East, Gulf and North Africa, along with points in Asia,
Europe and North America. Its 3,200 employees operate a fleet of 21 aircraft,
including Airbus A340s, A310s, A321s and A320s; and Bombardier Dash 8 Q300s and
Q400s. Last year, the airline boarded 1.7 million passengers.
With the IATA two-letter code of "RJ," the airline operates more than 50 international departures a day. Its Amman base is ideally suited as a regional hub for the Levant, Gulf and Middle East region. It reported net profits of $22 million for 2004, a 259 percent improvement on 2003, on revenues of $489 million, up 35 percent.
Founded in 1963, it is currently a public shareholding company wholly owned by the Jordanian government, which intends to privatize the airline in 2006.
The airline's frequent flyer program is called Royal Plus, and its Web site is http://www.rja.com.jo.