New global alliance is one of the alliance's founding members. Oneworld was unveiled by its founding members,
American Airlines,
British Airways,
Canadian Airlines,
Cathay Pacific and
Qantas at a press conference in
London, United Kingdom, on 21 September 1998. Oneworld was officially launched and became operational on 1 February 1999. The alliance outlined its
services and benefits as including: • Smoother transfers for passengers travelling across all member airlines • Greater support to passengers regardless of which member airline they are travelling with • Greater range of
round-the-world products • Enhanced co‑operation in the member airlines'
frequent-flyer programmes to provide more rewards • Wider recognition and access to more
airport lounges. • More
codeshare agreements and connecting flights between member airlines Ahead of the official launch, the alliance embarked on an extensive employee communications and training programme, involving virtually all of the 220,000 staff employed by the five-member airlines, to ensure they could deliver what the alliance brand promised. At its launch in 1999, Oneworld's member airlines and their affiliates served 648 destinations in 139 countries and carried 181 million passengers with a fleet of 1,577 aircraft.
First additional members became Oneworld's first recruit following the alliance's foundation.
Finnair,
Finland's largest airline and
flag carrier, was the alliance's first new recruit on 9 December 1998. The alliance welcomed
Iberia, Spain's flag carrier, as its second recruit on 15 February 1999. Both airlines, together with Iberia's franchisee,
Iberia Regional Air Nostrum, joined the alliance on 1 September 1999, adding more than 50 destinations to the Oneworld network. On 19 May 1999,
LAN Chile became a member-elect, the alliance's first representative from Latin America. LanChile's two subsidiaries,
LAN Express and
LAN Perú, would also join the alliance. Irish flag carrier
Aer Lingus was formally elected on board and confirmed as the ninth member of the alliance on 2 December 1999. As LanChile and Aer Lingus joined on 1 June 2000, Canadian Airlines left the alliance, following the airline's purchase by
Air Canada, a member of the rival
Star Alliance.
Swiss International Air Lines (Swiss) accepted an invitation to join Oneworld in September 2003, after signing a
memorandum of understanding (MOU) on 23 September 2003 to establish a wide-ranging commercial agreement with British Airways. However, Swiss later decided not to proceed with key elements of its agreement with British Airways and was therefore released from its commitment to join Oneworld; it was taken over by
Lufthansa in 2005 and joined
Star Alliance in 2006.
2005–2006: The first big expansion drive Airbus A319 in Oneworld livery The mid-2000s saw Oneworld undertake one of the biggest expansions in its history.
Hungarian flag carrier
Malév signed an MOU in May 2005 as a precursor to a formal invitation to join, extended in November 2005. On 17 October 2005, the alliance signed as a member-elect
Royal Jordanian, the first airline from the
Middle East to accept an invitation to join any global airline alliance.
Japan Airlines, then
Asia's largest airline group, applied to join the alliance on 25 October 2005. JAL and Oneworld exchanged an MOU on 8 February 2006, setting out a framework for the remaining steps to be taken before the airline could be formally invited to join. On 5 June 2006, JAL accepted a formal letter of invitation to join the alliance, along with five members of the JAL Group as affiliate members, including
J-Air,
JAL Express,
JALways,
Japan Asia Airways and
Japan Transocean Air.
Airbus A350-900 and a
Boeing 777-300ER in Oneworld livery All three of these airline groups — Japan Airlines, Malév and Royal Jordanian — joined as full members and started offering the alliance's full range of services and benefits on 1 April 2007, along with, as Oneworld affiliate members, Japan Airlines' subsidiaries J‑Air, JAL Express, JALways, Japan Asia Airways and Japan Transocean Air, and LAN's subsidiaries LAN Argentina and LAN Ecuador. They expanded the Oneworld network to almost 700 airports in nearly 150 countries served by 9,000 daily departures, carrying around 315 million passengers per year with a fleet of almost 2,500 aircraft, with top-tier frequent flyers able to access 400
airport lounges worldwide. On the same day, Aer Lingus voluntarily exited the alliance due to a fundamental change to its business strategy. The Irish carrier was repositioning itself as a low fares point-to-point carrier, while Oneworld's focus was on the multisector, premium, frequent international travellers' market. Although no longer a Oneworld member, Aer Lingus maintained frequent-flyer programme partnerships with some of the alliance members and continued to participate in the alliance's Global Explorer
round-the-world fare product. In February 2012, Malév suspended all services indefinitely, citing financial difficulties. Its participation in Oneworld ended when the airline was wound up in the following weeks.
Tenth anniversary (February 2009) Boeing 777-200ER in the new standard Oneworld livery In February 2009, Oneworld celebrated its tenth anniversary with its ten member airlines—
American Airlines,
British Airways,
Cathay Pacific,
Finnair,
Iberia Airlines,
Japan Airlines,
LAN,
Malév,
Qantas, and
Royal Jordanian. In the past decade, membership had doubled from an initial five members to ten members; its member airlines carried a total of 2.5 billion passengers and generated almost $500
billion, €450 million in revenue from passenger activities. Alliance fares and sales products generated $5 billion, €2.5 billion in revenue alone, with two-thirds or almost $3 billion, €1.5 billion would not have been generated if the alliance did not exist. As part of the celebration and to increase awareness of the 10‑member alliance, all the alliance member airlines decorated a proportion of their aircraft fleets in a new standard Oneworld livery—around 40 aircraft in total, mainly types that fly on international routes. The alliance also unveiled a special version of its logo, featuring the text "10 years" printed behind the word
Oneworld as a watermark on its purple orb.
2009–2011: New recruits and expansion (
Globus Airlines)
Boeing 737-800 in Oneworld livery On 26 May 2009, Russian airline
S7 Airlines was unanimously elected to the alliance. It became a full member on 15 November 2010, adding to Oneworld one of the most extensive networks covering Russia and the
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). It expanded the Oneworld network to another 54 cities, 35 of them in Russia. The airline's subsidiary
Globus Airlines joined Oneworld at the same time as an affiliate member. On 10 November 2009, Oneworld welcomed
Mexicana and its subsidiaries,
MexicanaClick and
MexicanaLink, after the airline accepted a formal invitation to join the alliance on 9 April 2008. Mexicana and its affiliates added 26 destinations to the alliance map. Mexicana was a former member of Star Alliance, leaving the group in March 2004 when it terminated its codeshare agreement with
United Airlines and opted for bilateral agreements with Oneworld members American Airlines and Iberia. On 2 August 2010, Mexicana filed for insolvency proceedings in Mexico and bankruptcy protection in the United States with its financial situation deteriorating. The airline suspended all operations from 28 August 2010. With the group under Mexican court protection, it has remained an inactive member of Oneworld since then.
Airbus A330-300 in Oneworld livery On 23 February 2010, India's
Kingfisher Airlines took its first step to joining Oneworld with its chairman
Vijay Mallya and chief executives from the alliance's existing member airlines signing a memorandum of understanding, subject to Indian regulatory approval. The airline gained approval to join the alliance from the India's Ministry of Civil Aviation and started participating in the alliance's Global Explorer round-the-world fare product. However, on 3 February 2012, just a week before it was due to join the alliance, Kingfisher Airlines' entry was put on hold to give it more time to strengthen its financial position. Kingfisher Airlines suspended operations on 20 October 2012 and finally ceased operations in February 2013. On 26 July 2010,
Air Berlin, at that time Germany's second-largest airline, accepted an invitation to join Oneworld and joined the alliance on 20 March 2012. On 6 June 2011,
Malaysia Airlines became a new member designate on the sidelines of the IATA World Air Transport Summit in Singapore. Malaysia Airlines became a part of Oneworld on 1 February 2013.
2012–2021: The second big expansion Airbus A330-200 in Oneworld livery On 11 June 2012,
SriLankan Airlines became Oneworld's latest member-elect, on the sidelines of the IATA World Air Transport Summit in
Beijing.
Cathay Pacific was SriLankan Airlines' sponsor through its alliance implementation programme. Its membership implementation was expected to take around 18 months. On 1 May 2014, SriLankan Airlines became a full member of the alliance, making it the first airline in the
Indian subcontinent to join any alliance. of
Qatar Airways in 2014 – the first among the "Big Three" carriers in the Persian Gulf to sign for any global airline alliance On 8 October 2012,
Qatar Airways became a member-elect of Oneworld. Qatar Airways was one of the fastest growing airlines worldwide—adding 15 destinations in 2012 alone—and one of the most highly regarded, having been named Airline of the Year by the
Skytrax independent airline quality ratings agency in both 2011 and 2012. The agreement to join was widely reported in the media as a coup for Oneworld, with Qatar Airways the first among the "Big Three" carriers in the
Persian Gulf to sign for any global airline alliance. The airline joined the alliance on 30 October 2013. On 14 February 2013, American Airlines began plans to merge with
US Airways. Following U.S.
Federal Aviation Administration approval, the merger was completed on 9 December 2013. US Airways left Star Alliance on 30 March 2014, and joined Oneworld as an affiliate member the following day. On 7 March 2013,
LATAM Airlines Group chose Oneworld as its alliance and announced that LAN subsidiary
LAN Colombia plus
TAM Airlines and its subsidiary
TAM Paraguay would join Oneworld. LAN Colombia joined the alliance on 1 October 2013. On 31 March 2014, TAM Airlines and
US Airways joined Oneworld after leaving Star Alliance on 30 March 2014. On 15 August 2017,
Air Berlin filed for insolvency after Abu Dhabi-based
Etihad Airways stopped funding the airline. Air Berlin subsequently left Oneworld upon entering administration and ceasing operations on 28 October 2017. On 1 June 2018, Oneworld introduced Oneworld Connect, a membership platform similar to Star Alliance's "Connecting Partners", with
Fiji Airways as the first member effective from 5 December onwards. The airline's membership was upgraded to full membership from 1 April 2025. On 5 December 2018, Oneworld announced
Royal Air Maroc as a member-elect, and the airline joined the alliance on 1 April 2020, extending the alliance's network into Africa. On 26 September 2019,
SkyTeam member
Delta Air Lines announced its plans to buy 20% of
LATAM Airlines Group for US$1.9 billion. On 1 January 2024, it was announced that Delta's acquisition of its 20% stake in LATAM was completed. LATAM Airlines Group announced that it would leave Oneworld on 1 May 2020, but the fate of Qatar Airways' 10% stake in LATAM is currently unannounced.
Boeing 737-900 in Oneworld livery On 31 March 2021,
Alaska Airlines and its affiliates
Alaska Horizon and
Alaska SkyWest joined the alliance as member and member affiliates, respectively.
2021–present: The third major expansion In April 2022, following the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine,
S7 Airlines was suspended from Oneworld. On 20 June 2022,
Oman Air and Oneworld signed a
memorandum of understanding for Oman Air to join the alliance during IATA General Meeting in Doha. Qatar Airways acted as Oman's sponsor. Oman Air joined the alliance on 30 June 2025. In September 2022,
RwandAir's intentions in joining Oneworld, with a sponsorship from
Qatar Airways, were announced. This would make RwandAir the third airline to enter an airline alliance in East Africa, after
Ethiopian Airlines (
Star Alliance) and
Kenya Airways (
SkyTeam), and second African airline after
Royal Air Maroc to join Oneworld. In August 2023, the CEO of
MIAT Mongolian Airlines Munkhtamir Batbayar revealed in an interview the airline's intent to join as a Oneworld Connect member, the second after Fiji Airways. It already has extensive codesharing with some Oneworld members, for example, Cathay Pacific since 2017 and JAL since 2020. On 3 December 2023, the
Alaska Air Group announced it planned to acquire
Hawaiian Airlines for US$1.9 billion. The deal, which closed on 18 September 2024, retains both Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines as separate brands. Under the deal, Hawaiian Airlines will become a Oneworld member and the two airlines will operate a combined frequent flyer program. The airline joined the alliance on 23 April 2026. On 16 September 2024,
Starlux Airlines announced that it plans to apply to join the Oneworld alliance by the end of 2025.
Subsidiaries and franchises Besides its full member airlines, Oneworld has affiliate member of regional airlines, that are either owned by or have strong commercial links with the alliance's full members. For customers, they further extend the network the alliance can offer. In governance terms, these affiliates are represented in Oneworld affairs by their parent airline.
Air Liberté ceased to be an affiliate member of Oneworld when the French airline was sold by British Airways to French investment group Taitbout with the UK carrier explaining that it had been unable to receive adequate returns on its investment in the business.
Kenya-based
Regional Air joined the alliance on 1 July 2001, following its franchising agreement with British Airways.
British Airways terminated its franchise agreement with Regional Air when the African carrier suspended flights in mid April 2005, ending its affiliate membership of Oneworld.
TWA's
regional carriers, which operated under the
Trans World Express brand, became Oneworld affiliate members, as their name changed to
AmericanConnection on 2 December 2001, following TWA's acquisition by American Airlines. Three airlines operated under the AmericanConnection brand at that time:
Chautauqua Airlines,
Corporate Airlines, and
Trans States Airlines. The alliance further strengthened its network in
Latin America when LAN's two subsidiaries,
LAN Argentina and
LAN Ecuador, became the alliance's newest affiliate members. LAN Argentina launched passenger and cargo services in June 2005 from its home base in
Buenos Aires, while LAN Ecuador launched its services in April 2003 from its home base in
Guayaquil. Both airlines officially joined their sister airlines and offer alliance's services and benefits on 1 April 2007. Conversely, on 5 March 2007, the alliance ended its relationship with affiliate member and British Airways subsidiary,
BA Connect. BA Connect's UK regional operations were sold to
Flybe on 3 November 2006, in return for a 15% stake in the latter. Approximately 50 UK regional routes are affected by the sale; however,
Belfast and
Southampton would remain linked to the alliance network through other British Airways and alliance members. BA Connect's operations from London City Airport and between
Manchester and New York were retained and operated by another British Airways subsidiary,
BA CityFlyer, and the airline itself, respectively. The alliance ended its relationship with affiliate member and British Airways franchisee
BMED on 27 October 2007, following the purchase of the airline by one of British Airways' UK rivals,
BMI. Four days later, Oneworld welcomed its latest affiliate member and Cathay Pacific wholly owned subsidiary
Dragonair to the alliance on 1 November 2007 – rebranded Cathay Dragon in 2016, it was consolidated into Cathay Pacific on 21 October 2020. Dragonair had the biggest network into mainland China for a non-mainland based carrier, with about 400 departures a week. In 2008, the alliance lost another two affiliate members as British Airways continued the strategy of reducing its UK franchises. The first franchisee,
GB Airways, exited the alliance on 30 March 2008, following its purchase by
EasyJet. British Airways intended to start services from London Heathrow to
Faro, Portugal, and
Málaga, Spain, and from London Gatwick to Faro,
Gibraltar,
Ibiza, Málaga,
Palma, and
Tunis, which were operated under the franchise. The alliance bid farewell to one of its affiliate member
Japan Asia Airways on 31 March 2008, following the airline's consolidation into its parent, Japan Airlines. The second British Airways franchisee,
Loganair, left the alliance on 25 October 2008, following the ending of its franchise agreement with the airline. A separate agreement for
codesharing on some Loganair services replaced the previous franchise, for British Airways passengers connecting through
Aberdeen,
Edinburgh and
Glasgow. ==Member airlines==