Dragonair to join oneworld

Hong Kong-based airline, Dragonair is to join the oneworld global airline alliance.

It becomes the 11th airline lining up to board oneworld in 2007 - alongside members elect Japan Airlines and five of its affiliates, Malév Hungarian, Royal Jordanian, LAN Argentina and LAN Ecuador - in the alliance’s biggest expansion programme since its launch.

Dragonair will add a total of 15 destinations to the oneworld map, 12 of them in Mainland China, giving oneworld a total of 22 points served in the country. Overall, Dragonair operates to 19 points in the Mainland with some 400 flights a week from its Hong Kong hub.

The 12 points in China it will bring on board for oneworld are Chongqing, Changsha, Chengdu, Fuzhou, Haikou, Kunming, Guilin, Ningbo, Nanjing, Shenyang, Sanya and Wuhan. Elsewhere, it will add Kota Kinabalu (Malaysia), Phnom Penh (Cambodia) and Phuket (Thailand) to the alliance map. By adding Phnom Penh, oneworld will connect with one new country – Cambodia.

Dragonair’s election on board oneworld follows its integration with alliance founder member Cathay Pacific Airways in September this year. While it is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Cathay Pacific, Dragonair has retained its own brand and identity, market positioning and separate “KA” flight code.

As a oneworld affiliate, Dragonair will offer the alliance’s full range of services and benefits. This means its frequent flyers - who will all be integrated into Cathay Pacific’s Marco Polo Club loyalty programme from 1 January 2007 - will be able to earn and redeem mileage awards on all other oneworld carriers. Top-tier members will have access to the 400 airport lounges worldwide offered by the alliance’s airlines.

Members of other oneworld airlines’ frequent flyer programmes will be able to earn and redeem awards and receive all other oneworld benefits on Dragonair. Its network will also be covered by oneworld’s extensive range of alliance fares.

Dragonair Chief Executive Officer Kenny Tang said, “Becoming an affiliate member of oneworld is an exciting development for Dragonair and is yet another benefit to result from our joining the Cathay Pacific group. We are pleased that oneworld customers will be able to connect through Hong Kong to our extensive network of destinations in the China Mainland, along with the other business and leisure destinations we serve within the Asia Pacific region.”

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