The Oneworld alliance, which includes British Airways and American Airlines, is reviewing the case for seeking members from the ranks of discount carriers while exploring measures to fill gaps in emerging markets. Rob Gurney, who took over as Oneworld’s CEO in October, said he’s considering the group’s approach to low-cost operators that account for an ever-increasing share of global traffic, and evaluating steps to boost its presence in Africa, India and China. Oneworld is the smallest of the three main airline groupings, with 14 members versus 28 at Star Alliance and 20 at SkyTeam, though it claims to have a greater proportion of “blue chip” brands. Gurney said that while alliances remain vital in encouraging customer loyalty and boosting revenue, they must keep pace with industry consolidation and the joint venture pacts that have become key profit drivers for airlines. “The value proposition hasn’t evolved as rapidly as market structures, industry trends or the operating models of our member airlines,” Gurney said. “Like any enterprise that perhaps hasn’t moved at sufficient pace, you need to address that. This is a business.” The CEO declined to reveal what new customer initiatives are under discussion, while saying he aims to establish an “ambitious agenda.” Oneworld needs to think through how it might accommodate discount carriers without doing damage to existing members, Gurney said. <br/>
oneworld
British Airways cabin crew working under ‘mixed fleet’ terms will strike again this month in support of a claim for a wage increase. The four day strike will start at 00:01 on February 17 and end at 23:59 on February 20. The industrial action follows two three-day strikes, the second of which ends February 11th. The Unite union representing the airline’s 2,500 mixed fleet cabin crew says basic pay starts at GBPGBP12,192 with GBP3 an hour flight pay. Unite estimates that mixed fleet cabin crew earn GBP16,000 on average, including allowances, a year. “British Airways should focus on addressing poverty pay in its mixed fleet, rather than continuing to waste hundreds of thousands of pounds on chartering in aircraft to cover striking workers,” Unite national officer Oliver Richardson said. “We would urge British Airways to join us at reconvened Acas talks and negotiate a settlement to avoid the cost and disruption of a further four days of strike action.” Acas is the UK’s Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service. British Airways said all customers will be able to fly to their destinations during the announced strike days.<br/>
The head of the pilots' union at American Airlines is blasting the carrier's CEO for skipping a meeting with President Donald Trump to attend a company event in Dallas. Union President Dan Carey said Friday that CEO Doug Parker missed a chance to talk to Trump about issues confronting airline workers, including the threat from fast-growing foreign competitors. Parker says he needed to attend an event for 1,600 employees, where he stressed the importance of managers taking care of their workers. He said he made sure that other CEOs talked to Trump about the industry's agenda, including modernizing the air traffic control system and reducing taxes and regulation.<br/>
Three airberlin Airbus A320s operating in Eurowings colors launched Feb. 10 from Hamburg to Manchester, Stuttgart and Nuremberg. The flights are part of a six-year wet-lease agreement between airberlin and the Lufthansa Group, which was approved unconditionally at the end of January by federal antitrust authorities. Under the wet-lease agreement, airberlin will lease 38 Airbus A319/A320 aircraft—which are stationed at German and Austrian airports—to Lufthansa and its subsidiaries Eurowings and Austrian Airlines. Eurowings will take 33 of the aircraft and Austrian will take the remaining five. The deal also includes a codeshare between Lufthansa and airberlin equity parent Etihad Airways. Airberlin CEO Thomas Winkelmann said, “The wet-lease agreement with the Lufthansa Group is a significant milestone for airberlin by providing job security with ultimately 38 aircraft flying for the Lufthansa Group.” The airberlin wet-leased A320s will be delivered to the Lufthansa Group in phases by the end of April and all aircraft will carry the wording “operated by airberlin” on their fuselages.<br/>