Revenues from oneworld alliance fares and sales activities in 2005 rose by 20 per cent year-on-year to almost US$650 million - growing nearly three times faster than its member airlines’ overall passenger revenues.  Its eight partner carriers - American Airlines, British Airways, Qantas, Cathay Pacific Airways, Iberia, LAN, Finnair and Aer Lingus - classified almost two-thirds of this as “incremental” revenue, or money they would not have earned had it not been for oneworld.

The 20 per cent increase in revenues from oneworld fares and sales activity in 2005 builds on growth of more than 30 per cent the previous year.

Interlining between oneworld airlines - one carrier selling connecting flights on another partner - generated total revenues of more than US$1.8 billion for the eight airlines, including benefits from alliance fares and sales products.  That represents one dollar in every 30 earned by the eight carriers from their passenger services overall.

Those interline revenues within oneworld rose 10.7 per cent year-on-year in 2005, while revenues from the eight airlines’ overall passenger activities grew by 7.6 per cent. 

Some 7.5 million passengers transferred between oneworld member airlines’ flights in 2005, one in every 30 customers they boarded throughout the year.  The numbers of passengers transferring between oneworld carriers rose by around 5 per cent on 2005.

oneworld Managing Partner John McCulloch said:  “In a business where operating margins are generally wafer thin and at a time when fuel prices have reached record highs, revenues from oneworld represent an increasingly important contribution to our member airlines’ financial standings - and we are committed to increasing the contribution the alliance makes.

“Key factors behind this rise in revenues are the quality of the service oneworld and its member airlines provide, our first class international route network and our unmatched range of alliance fares and sales products, while yields from these alliance sales activities remained strong.  We expect our new recruits Japan Airlines, Malév and Royal Jordanian to give these revenues a significant further lift when they join early next year.”

oneworld is once again the only airline alliance whose members earned a combined profit in the past year - US$1.8 billion net, against combined losses of more than US$5 billion by SkyTeam’s members and of more than US$20 billion by Star members.  oneworld also remains the only alliance without a member in court bankruptcy protection.

Revenues generated by oneworld sales activities included earnings from its unrivalled range of alliance fares.  oneworld offers a wider selection of alliance tickets than any of its competitors - for captains of industry or student backpackers, whether they want to fly all around the world or explore just one continent.

Besides the addition of significant new global corporate customers, revenues were further boosted by the expansion of the alliance’s businessflyer product, targeting small and medium-sized companies, to Switzerland and the Netherlands, besides its established markets of France and Germany. 

Almost 4,000 organisations have registered as businessflyer customers in these four markets, working with more than thousand travel agents, attracted by the product’s promise of significant discounts on regular prices in return for a more regular relationship with oneworld airlines.
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