Sri Lanka becomes 15th member of global airline alliance

Sri Lanka joined the global Oneworld alliance and will be able to offer all of its customers seamless connections across a global network

Sri Lanka Wednesday joined the global Oneworld alliance, becoming the 15th member of the group which includes some of the top names in the passenger airline industry.

SriLankan Airlines also becomes the first carrier from the Indian subcontinent to join any of the global airline alliances and completes Oneworld's biggest expansion programme since its launch 15 years ago, Xinhua reported.

As part of Oneworld, SriLankan Airlines will be able to offer all of its customers seamless connections across a global network serving almost 1,000 destinations in more than 150 countries, with first rate connections between the world's leading business centers.

"SriLankan is already participating in Global Explorer, the round-the-world fare offered by all Oneworld members and various airlines that are not part of the alliance. SriLankan Airlines network will be covered by Oneworld's full range of alliance fares, the most extensive offered by any of the global alliances, including the market-leading Oneworld Explorer round-the-world fare," the airline said.

Bruce Ashley, chief executive officer of Oneworld, said that they soon hope to have Indian passenger airlines on board.

On the eve of its entry into Oneworld, SriLankan Wednesday concluded code-share agreements with two more Oneworld members, Finnair and Russia's S7 Airlines.

It already has code-sharing in place with Oneworld's Malaysia Airlines and code-share discussions with other Oneworld partners are in progress.

Among Oneworld members are British Airways, JAL, Quantas and Iberia.