Oneworld alliance information: Airways, lounges and standing

The Oneworld alliance was based in 1999 by a number of airways, together with American Airways, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas. Now, the alliance has 13 member airways and one Oneworld join associate airline, Fiji Airways.

Oneworld airways can take you to over 900 locations in 170 nations and territories. The Oneworld alliance is how elite statuses held with any Oneworld member airline are acknowledged when flying with different alliance airways. So, let’s take a more in-depth take a look at the Oneworld alliance.

Oneworld airways

The Oneworld alliance has 13 member airways and one Oneworld join associate airline, although remember that Oman Air will quickly be a part of Oneworld and S7 was suspended in 2022. Listed below are the present Oneworld airways:

• Alaska Airways
• American Airways
• British Airways
• Cathay Pacific
• Fiji Airways (Oneworld join associate)
• Finnair
• Iberia
• Japan Airways
• Malaysia Airways
• Qantas
• Qatar Airways
• Royal Air Maroc
• Royal Jordanian Airways
• SriLankan Airways

This record of Oneworld member airways is essential, as you’ll be able to often e book award journey on member airways by way of different Oneworld companions. For instance, you’ll be able to e book an award flight that features flights operated by different Oneworld airways by way of American Airways AAdvantage.

Oneworld alliance standing tiers

Oneworld has three elite standing tiers: Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald. For those who maintain airline elite standing with any Oneworld member airline, you will have certainly one of these Oneworld statuses.

This is a more in-depth take a look at every of the Oneworld alliance standing tiers.

Oneworld Ruby

The first advantage of Oneworld Ruby standing is entry to business-class precedence check-in queues. Search for the Oneworld brand with a ruby ellipse subsequent to it, and you will be in your technique to a check-in line that is usually considerably shorter than the usual queue.

Oneworld Ruby members can also get most well-liked or pre-reserved seating and precedence on waitlists and when on standby. Nonetheless, you will not get these perks persistently, as they’re supplied primarily based on the working airline’s coverage.

A few of the airline statuses that supply Oneworld Ruby standing embody:

• Alaska Airways Mileage Plan MVP
• American Airways AAdvantage Gold
• British Airways Govt Membership Bronze

Associated: So, what precisely is elite standing in journey — and the way can I get it?

Oneworld Sapphire

Oneworld Sapphire is the place the extra spectacular perks begin to kick in. Along with the advantages supplied to Oneworld Ruby members, Oneworld Sapphire members additionally get entry to business-class lounges on eligible tickets and precedence boarding.

It’s also possible to take pleasure in an additional baggage allowance and precedence baggage dealing with when flying on Oneworld member airways as an Oneworld Sapphire member. You will often get a minimum of 15 kilograms (about 33 kilos) extra weight if the luggage allowance in your ticket relies on weight. You will additionally usually get a minimum of yet one more checked bag weighing as much as 23 kilograms (about 50 kilos) if the luggage allowance in your ticket relies on items.

Nonetheless, you will not get precedence baggage dealing with when flying on British Airways flights, and you will not get any extra baggage allowance in case you e book hand-baggage-only or fundamental fares with British Airways.

This is a take a look at a number of the airline statuses that supply Oneworld Sapphire standing:

• Alaska Airways Mileage Plan MVP Gold
• American Airways AAdvantage Platinum
• British Airways Govt Membership Silver

The Qatar Airways Privilege Membership Visa Infinite Credit score Card gives a yr of complimentary Qatar Airways Privilege Membership Gold standing, which provides Oneworld Sapphire standing. So, you’ll be able to successfully purchase Oneworld Sapphire standing for a yr by including this $499 annual payment card to your pockets.

The knowledge for the Qatar Airways Privilege Membership Visa Infinite Card has been collected independently by The Factors Man. The cardboard particulars on this web page haven’t been reviewed or supplied by the cardboard issuer.

Oneworld Emerald

Oneworld Emerald presents most of the similar perks as Oneworld Sapphire standing. Nonetheless, along with the advantages given to Oneworld Sapphire members, Oneworld Emerald members get entry to first-class lounges on eligible tickets, first-class precedence check-in and fast-track or precedence lanes at choose airports.

Oneworld Emerald members additionally get a minimum of 20 kilograms (about 44 kilos) extra weight if the luggage allowance on their ticket relies on weight. Nonetheless, Oneworld Emerald members nonetheless will not get any extra baggage allowance attributable to their standing when flying on British Airways hand-baggage-only or fundamental fares.

These are a number of the airline statuses that supply Oneworld Emerald standing:

• Alaska Airways Mileage Plan MVP Gold 75K and MVP Gold 100K
• American Airways AAdvantage Platinum Professional and AAdvantage Govt Platinum
• British Airways Govt Membership Gold

Oneworld Emerald is the first purpose why TPG lead author Katie Genter strives to keep up a minimum of AAdvantage Platinum Professional standing. Katie loves visiting Oneworld first-class lounges — together with Cathay Pacific’s The Pier First Class Lounge in Hong Kong, Malaysia Airways’ First Class Golden Lounge in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Qantas’ Worldwide First Lounge in Los Angeles — when flying on eligible itineraries. Plus, some Oneworld airways will mechanically block the seat subsequent to you when the flight is not full, which is a pleasant unpublished perk.

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Oneworld lounges

Oneworld and its member airways have almost 700 lounges worldwide. So, analysis your Oneworld lounge choices on-line earlier than heading to the airport. For those who plan to realize lounge entry primarily based in your Oneworld standing, search for the Sapphire or Emerald ellipse. As you look by way of the lounge choices, examine the lounge opening hours and whether or not you will have entry primarily based on the airline working your flight.

Most Oneworld lounges on the airport show the Sapphire or Emerald ellipses close to the doorway. Since there are various Oneworld lounges at some airports — and infrequently a number of lounges with related names operated by the identical airline — ensure that to examine the particular location of the lounge you need to go to on the Oneworld website.

First-class passengers and Oneworld Emerald and Sapphire members can deliver one visitor to the lounge if the visitor additionally travels on a flight operated and marketed by a Oneworld airline.

Every lounge has its personal entry guidelines, although many present entry to eligible clients touring on any Oneworld member airline. Nonetheless, there are some instances when you could not have lounge entry, even if in case you have Oneworld Sapphire or Emerald standing or are flying in a premium cabin. Verify the Oneworld alliance web site for essentially the most nuanced, up-to-date info on lounge entry, along with holding these few issues in thoughts:

• Alaska Airways Mileage Plan elite members who’ve Oneworld Sapphire or Emerald standing solely get lounge entry when touring to locations exterior the U.S., Canada or Mexico.
• American Airways AAdvantage elite members with Oneworld Sapphire or Emerald standing do not often get Oneworld lounge entry when touring solely on flights inside the U.S. or between the U.S., Canada, Mexico (besides Mexico Metropolis), the Bahamas, Bermuda and the Caribbean. Nonetheless, for a restricted time, AAdvantage Govt Platinum, Platinum Professional and Platinum members can entry Admirals Membership lounges when touring on a global flight operated by American Airways.
• The Oneworld lounge entry coverage would not embody British Airways Concorde lounges; the Chelsea lounge in Terminal 8 at New York’s John F. Kennedy Worldwide Airport (JFK); Qatar Airways’ Al Safwa First and Al Mourjan Enterprise lounges at Doha’s Hamad Worldwide Airport (DOH); Qatar Airways Premium Lounges in Bangkok, Paris and Singapore; arrivals lounges; spa amenities; and preflight eating amenities. Nonetheless, you could have entry to a few of these lounges primarily based in your working airline and cabin class.
• Qatar Airways Enterprise Lite fares and Finnair Enterprise Gentle fares aren’t eligible for lounge entry.
• Your flight should be marketed and operated by a Oneworld member airline. Fiji Airways is a Oneworld Join associate, so you will solely get lounge entry earlier than departure in case your ticket additionally contains journey on British Airways, Cathay Pacific or Qantas (the Oneworld sponsors for Fiji Airways).

The dearth of lounge entry when flying inside the U.S. and between the U.S. and a few locations close to the U.S. is commonly disappointing for Oneworld Sapphire and Emerald members who earn elite standing by way of American Airways AAdvantage and Alaska Airways Mileage Plan.

For this reason some vacationers earn Oneworld standing by way of a non-U.S. airline. For instance, Katie held Oneworld Sapphire standing by way of Malaysia Airways Enrich from 2019 to 2024 regardless of additionally holding Oneworld Emerald standing by way of American Airways AAdvantage. By having Oneworld Sapphire standing from a non-U.S. airline, she loved entry to Admirals Golf equipment and even Flagship Lounges on flights to, from and inside the U.S.

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Backside line

The Oneworld alliance facilitates journey to over 900 locations on a single ticket. Though the record of Oneworld airways is noticeably lacking a South American airline and solely has one African airline, the Oneworld route map nonetheless gives good protection worldwide.

Oneworld standing and lounge entry additionally imply vacationers with elite standing from any Oneworld airline will take pleasure in some perks when touring with different airways within the Oneworld alliance. One side that units the Oneworld alliance aside from different airline alliances is that it gives first-class lounge entry to its top-tier Emerald elite members. That stated, Oneworld Ruby standing additionally presents a worthwhile perk you do not see with different airline alliances: entry to business-class precedence check-in queues.