| RJ,
which was invited by oneworld to join its alliance, will be
the first carrier from the Levant, Middle East and Gulf region
to be elected on board any of the global airline groupings.
RJ President and CEO Samer
Majali and officials from the alliance described the step
as a significant one for the country's national carrier and
its strategic vision.
“We are delighted
that our recent performance and strategic vision make us an
attractive partner for the world's best alliance,” Majali
told the press yesterday.
Majali, who has led RJ under
a stringent cleanup process and management of the national
carrier, said the move is in line with the airline's ongoing
efforts and new strategic plans to build and expand on greater
networks in the region.
Today, alliances are a major
force in the international airline industry. Some 80 per cent
of world scheduled international capacity now rests within
the three big alliances.
Together, oneworld's members
operate more than 8,000 departures a day to 600 destinations
in 135 territories.
Its members' 2,000 aircraft
carried more than 230 million passengers in 2004 — equivalent
to around one in 30 of the world population.
The alliance also helped
its member airlines earn almost $60 billion in revenues, with
oneworld activities generating one in every $30 earned by
its member airlines from passenger services.
Such alliances also help
provide airline customers with numerous services and benefits.
This includes, for example,
a broader route network, opportunities to earn and redeem
frequent flyer miles and points across the alliance network
and access to more airport lounges.
In addition, oneworld is
currently the first alliance to enable customers to travel
across their combined networks with electronic tickets, which
its competitors do not yet offer.
At present, RJ has satisfied
oneworld's key pre-joining audits, assuring the group that
it can deliver the alliance's services, benefits and processes,
and also match its demanding quality and safety standards.
However, there is still
much to do before the national carrier can become a full-fledged
member of oneworld by the turn of 2006/2007.
According to Majali, RJ
will have to connect its IT systems with that of its partners
and provide staff training to deliver oneworld products, customer
benefits and support over the coming 18 months.
Majali said the airline
was doing its utmost to take advantage of both the regional
liberalisation of air transport and King Abdullah's vision
for a Jordan as a business and investment hub.
He said the entry into the
alliance, although optional, was crucial if Jordan was to
keep pace with the rapid developments of the global airline
industry.
Majali acknowledged Iberia
and British Airways as two of the world's leading airlines,
which RJ would do well to learn from.
RJ currently flies to destinations
across the Levant, the Middle East and the Gulf as well as
London, Madrid, Barcelona, New York JFK, Chicago O'Hare and
Bangkok.
It will add Iraq and Yemen
to the oneworld map and 10 destinations, including Al Arish
and Alexandria in Egypt, Al Ain in UAE, Dammam and Jeddah
in Saudi Arabia, Aqaba in Jordan, as well as Baghdad, Basra
and Erbil in Iraq. This will extend the alliance's network
to 135 territories and 609 destinations
Representing oneworld and
its existing members yesterday at the press conference was
Fernando Conte, chairman and CEO of Iberia and current chairman
of the oneworld governing board.
Conte said Royal Jordanian
was the first airline accepted to join oneworld in more than
five years.
He said the alliance members,
who are very selective in their choices, had also been looking
into expanding the network in the Middle East and cited RJ
as a quality candidate to recruit for that end. According
to them, RJ's distinguished performance and track record served
the airline well.
“Oneworld's focus
over [the past five years] has been on helping our member
airlines fly through the terrible turbulence our industry
has had to face,” said Conte.
“Now we are entering
a new period of expansion with [RJ] as the first to join our
group,” he added.
“We believe RJ will
add considerable value to oneworld and we believe oneworld
will add considerable value not only to RJ but to Amman as
an aviation hub in this region with all the benefits that
this means for Jordan,” said Conte.
Also present at the press
conference yesterday were British Airways Chairman Martin
Broughton, who is also acting as a sponsor for RJ's entry
into the alliance, and oneworld's managing partner, John McCulloch. |
