Malev Hungarian Airlines was welcomed on board oneworld, at a series of special celebration events in its Budapest home base. Its addition, as one of the alliance`s first new recruits for…
Malev Hungarian Airlines was welcomed on board oneworld, at a series of special celebration events in its Budapest home base. Its addition, as one of the alliance`s first new recruits for six years, is a central part of oneworld`s biggest expansion since its launch eight years ago.
It will be joined on board oneworld in the coming days by Japan Airlines, Asia-Pacific`s largest carrier, along with five JAL associates as affiliate members, and by Royal Jordanian, the first airline from the Middle East to find a home with any of the global alliances. Two more members of the LAN alliance will board at the same time as well – LAN Argentina and LAN Ecuador, also as affiliates.
Malev and these other oneworld recruits will start offering oneworld services and benefits from this coming weekend, with all on board from 1 April. Dragonair will join them later this year.
To mark Malev`s addition to the grouping, the airline`s new Chairman Boris Abramovich and Chief Executive Janos Gonci were joined at the company`s Budapest base by senior representatives and uniformed staff from all its new partners.
Leading the delegation of visitors were oneworld Managing Partner John McCulloch and Henrik Arle, Deputy Chief Executive of Finnair, which has acted as Malev`s oneworld sponsor.
oneworld Managing Partner John McCulloch said: This is a special day for the oneworld alliance and for aviation in Central and East Europe in particular. With Malev and our other recruits, oneworld will broaden its coverage in three of the world`s fastest growing regions for air travel. We will add the quality and strength of more great brands to the world`s leading airline alliance. We will further increase the value, choice and range that we offer our oneworld customers. We are delighted that Malev is right at the forefront of this new era.
Finnair Deputy Chief Executive Henrik Arle added: A critical factor in oneworld`s success has been the high quality of member airlines, which is why we are extremely careful in our choice of new recruits. We look for partners that fit our brands, that match our high standards of customer service and that share our overall approach to business. Malev is an airline with a strong reputation for customer service, and with a young fleet. Its excellent Budapest hub is ideally positioned to act as our alliance`s gateway the entire East and Central European region. We are very pleased to welcome Malev to oneworld.
Malev`s newly elected Chairman Boris Abramovich said: Being part of oneworld will enable Malev to provide our customers with superior access to the world – and help build Budapest`s role as a major aviation hub in this region, with all the benefits that will deliver to Hungary. It is vital in today`s airline industry for a medium-sized airline like Malev to have the best of the best as partners to achieve long-term efficiencies and sustainable profitability comparable to those of oneworld.
Malev Chief Executive Janos Gonci added: Malev is very proud to join the world`s leading airline alliance as its representative from Central and East Europe. Our months of preparation have confirmed our belief that oneworld and its member airlines are outstanding professionals and industry leaders, and we are certain that this follows through to the benefit of the customers of oneworld the world over. Malev`s joining of the alliance will open up the power of oneworld to even more customers in even more markets than ever before.
Once the airline joins the alliance this weekend, members of Malev`s Duna Club frequent flyer programme will be able to earn and redeem mileage awards on all other oneworld carriers, with Duna Platinum and Gold cardholders also gaining access to the 400 airport lounges worldwide offered by the alliance`s airlines.
Members of the oneworld airlines` frequent flyer programmes will be able to earn and redeem awards and receive all other oneworld benefits on Malev, along with JAL, Royal Jordanian, LAN Argentina and LAN Ecuador, whose networks will also be covered by oneworld`s extensive range of alliance fares and sales products.
The 18-month implementation programme to prepare Malev for its oneworld membership is now all but complete. It was the first of the alliance`s three recruits to offer interline e-ticketing (IET) with all its oneworld partners, with the last of its connections completed in January. oneworld has been the only alliance with IET between all partners for almost two years now, enabling passengers to connect between its member airlines` flights with the convenience of electronic tickets only.
All the necessary internal processes and procedures at Malev have been brought into line with the alliance`s requirements. Thousands of its employees have participated in a special training programme to ensure they can deliver the alliance`s services and benefits from Day One, and dozens of its IT systems linked to those at the other oneworld airlines.
Malev has been participating since June in the alliance`s Global Explorer round-the-world fare product, which includes some other carriers which are not part of the alliance, and will become fully involved in all the alliance`s other fares and sales products from 1 April.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
