oneworld has been named the World’s Leading Airline Alliance 2010 in the World’s Travel Awards - described by the Wall Street Journal as the “travel industry’s equivalent of the Oscars”. 

It is the eighth year running that oneworld has won this honour, retaining the “best alliance” title since 2003.

oneworld member airlines also flew high in the World Travel Awards, with Cathay Pacific named World Leading Airline Economy Class, and American Airlines as North America’s Leading Airline.

The 2010 World Travel Awards were presented at the gala ceremony held at the Grosvenor House, London last night, based on votes cast by more than 180,000 travel agents and other travel professionals worldwide. 

oneworld Managing Partner John McCulloch said: “oneworld’s focus has always been on the quality rather than the quantity of our members, so it is very heartening to retain our record of being the only alliance ever to win this World Travel Award since it was first presented.  It is a tremendous vote of confidence once again from some of the most knowledgeable people in the travel industry worldwide in what has been a breakthrough year for oneworld.” 

The award is the latest landmark for oneworld in what is turning into a breakthrough year for the alliance. In other key milestones so far in 2010:
• S7 Airlines, Russia’s leading domestic carrier – and one of the biggest and best international airlines in the Commonwealth of Independent States -  will join oneworld a week today, on 15 November.
• India’s leading carrier Kingfisher Airlines became a oneworld member elect in June – followed by airberlin, Europe’s fifth biggest airline, in July.
• American Airlines, British Airways, Iberia, Finnair and Royal Jordanian in July received long-awaited final approval for their application for anti-trust immunity across the Atlantic, with American, BA and Iberia launching their transatlantic joint business in October. and the proposed transatlantic joint business between American, BA and Iberia.
• Japan Airlines has been expanding its co-operation with its oneworld partners since reaffirming its membership of the alliance in February.  In October it gained final approval from Japan’s authorities and tentative approval from the US regulators, to launch a joint business with American Airlines between Asia and North America from early next year.  JAL has also substantially expanded code-sharing with many other oneworld partners.
• British Airways and Iberia are on track to complete their merger by the end of the year.
• LAN Airlines celebrated its 10th anniversary as a oneworld member on 1 June.  Since joining, it has added to the grouping its affiliates in Argentina, Ecuador and Peru. 
• oneworld’s biggest airport co-location project in Asia was completed at the end of October, with British Airways moving alongside all the other on-line oneworld airlines in Terminal 2 at JAL’s Tokyo Narita international base.  At the same time, oneworld positioned itself as the leading alliance at Tokyo Haneda, as it opened to scheduled international services, offering the airport’s widest international network and biggest domestic operation.