QA becomes full member of oneworld on Oct. 30

Qatar Airways’ first A380 took off from Toulouse on its maiden flight to Hamburg where the aircraft will be fitted with its cabin before being painted. The Doha-based carrier has firm orders for 10 A380s and will become the 11th airline to join the prestigious club of A380 operators when it takes delivery of this aircraft in 2014. Since first entering service in 2007, 108 A380s are in operation with ten world class carriers and have accumulated over 1mn flight hours in more than 120,000 commercial flights. To date 44mn passengers have already enjoyed the unique experience of flying on board an A380.

Qatar Airways will become a full member of oneworld from October 30, adding the national carrier to the world’s leading quality airline alliance.One of just seven carriers worldwide rated five-star by the Skytrax airline quality agency and the organisation’s Airline of the Year 2011 and 2012 and runner-up 2013, Qatar Airways is the only one of the “Gulf Big Three” carriers slated to join any of the global airline alliances.  It received clearance to board oneworld after successfully completing a thorough review of its readiness, conducted by British Airways, which is sponsoring Qatar Airways’ entry into the alliance, with oneworld’s central team.Qatar Airways completes its oneworld implementation programme just one year after receiving its invitation to join, announced in New York in October 2012.  This will make its induction into oneworld one of the fastest in the alliance’s history.  Normally it takes around 18 months for any airline to be readied to enter any alliance.Qatar Airways’ addition to oneworld will come shortly before the airline moves into its new home base, Hamad International Airport, which has been designed to strengthen Doha’s position as a premium global hub, with an eventual capacity for 50mn passengers a year.From its first flights on October 30, Qatar Airways will offer oneworld’s full range of services and benefits.From then, the 3mn members of Qatar Airways’ Privilege Club loyalty programme will enjoy frequent flyer privileges whenever they fly with any oneworld member airline, which include leading brands from each global region – airberlin, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, LAN Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Royal Jordanian, S7 Airlines and some 30 affiliated airlines. This includes earning and redeeming Qmiles for awards and earning Qpoints for tier status when flying with all these airlines.Privilege Club Platinum cardholders will have Emerald status in the oneworld programme. Privilege Club Gold will be equivalent to oneworld Sapphire and Privilege Club Silver will be oneworld Ruby.From October 30, Privilege Club Platinum and Gold members will be able to access 550 airport lounges worldwide offered by oneworld member airlines when they fly with one of the alliance’s carriers. Qatar Airways’ first and business class passengers will also be able to use oneworld partner airline lounges.Also from October 30, the 130mn members of the established oneworld airlines’ frequent flyer programmes will be able to earn and redeem awards and tier status points and receive all other oneworld benefits on Qatar Airways.Qatar Airways is already participating in Global Explorer, the round-the-world fare offered by all oneworld members and various airlines that are not part of the alliance. When it becomes part of oneworld, Qatar Airways’ network – serving 130 destinations in some 70 countries across the Middle East, Europe, Africa, North and South America, Asia and Australasia – will be covered by the full and extensive range of oneworld fare and sales products.More than 20 of its destinations and five countries – Ethiopia, Iran, Rwanda, Serbia and Tanzania – will be new to the oneworld map.