Alaska Airlines is Now a Member of the oneworld Alliance

First, the date was sometime during the summer of 2021.

Then, the date was moved up to by the end of 2020.

Then, the date was moved back to Wednesday, March 31, 2021 — and the third time proved to be the charm.

Alaska Airlines is now officially a full member airline of the oneworld alliance as of yesterday, Wednesday, March 31, 2021, which is the first time in its history of approximately 89 years that the carrier is a member of a global airline alliance, according to this article from the official weblog of Alaska Airlines.

Alaska Airlines is Now a Member of the oneworld Alliance

Talk about a breath of fresh airlines! Alaska Airlines is officially the 14th member of the @traveloneworld Alliance, joining 13 leading airlines to help you reach as many as 1,000 destinations worldwide. Learn more: https://t.co/nbRpwJgsJ6 pic.twitter.com/PIAFLgIHtB

— Alaska Airlines (@AlaskaAir) April 1, 2021

“Talk about a breath of fresh airlines! Alaska Airlines is officially the 14th member of the @traveloneworld Alliance, joining 13 leading airlines to help you reach as many as 1,000 destinations worldwide”, according to this message from the official Twitter account of Alaska Airlines.

The membership of Alaska Airlines in the oneworld alliance will allow members of the Mileage Plan frequent flier loyalty program to earn and redeem miles through the extensive global network of the 13 member airlines of the oneworld alliance — as well as 30 of their affiliates — to and from greater that 1,000 airports in greater than 170 countries and territories.

The following benefits are expected to be in effect:

• Earn and redeem Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles on all oneworld airlines — subject to award availability.
• Members who have earned elite level status will enjoy elite privileges — including priority boarding, premium seating, baggage benefits, and more when flying as a passenger on airplanes which are marketed and operated by American Airlines or any oneworld airline.
• Members who have earned MVP Gold and MVP Gold 75k elite level status can access 650 lounges within the oneworld airline network.

In addition to its announced strengthened partnership with American Airlines, the oneworld alliance will enable members of the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan frequent flier loyalty program to enjoy reciprocal benefits on other member airlines — such as priority check-in and boarding, access to preferred seats, and free checked bags.

The joining of Alaska Airlines — which is based in Seattle and operates hub airports in Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland, and Anchorage — is expected to add 34 new destinations across North America to the oneworld network.

Prior to the current 2019 Novel Coronavirus pandemic, Alaska Air Group maintained an operational fleet of 319 aircraft, which was comprised of the Airbus A320 family, Boeing 737, Embraer 175, and Bombardier Q400. Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air are subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group.

Royal Air Maroc was the most recent airline to join the oneworld alliance, which occurred on Wednesday, April 1, 2020; while Royal Air Maroc Express — which is its regional subsidiary — will simultaneously join as a oneworld affiliate member. Royal Air Maroc is the first full member airline of the oneworld alliance in the continent of Africa.

Alaska Airlines and its regional partners fly 47 million customers per year to greater than 116 destinations with an average of 1,300 daily flights across the United States and to Mexico, Canada and Costa Rica — at least, prior to the current 2019 Novel Coronavirus pandemic. With Alaska Airlines and Alaska Global Partners, customers may earn and redeem miles for flights to greater than 800 destinations worldwide.

Summary

Whether this alliance actually means “more choice for travelers” — through such items as codesharing of flights, benefits for frequent fliers, and opening the world to customers of Alaska Airlines — remains to be seen…

All photographs ©2014 and ©2018 by Brian Cohen.