SkyWest and ExpressJet to fly as oneworld affiliates

15 de noviembre de 2012

SkyWest and ExpressJet are to fly as affiliate members of oneworld®, the leading quality global airline alliance, on routes they operate as American Eagle, the regional affiliate of American Airlines. 

SkyWest will offer the full range of oneworld services and benefits on flights operated under the American Eagle brand from Los Angeles from 15 de noviembre de 2012 to an initial 13 destinations:

  • Albuquerque, New Mexico (which has the three-letter IATA code ABQ)
  • El Paso, Texas (ELP)
  • Fresno, California (FAT)
  • Monterey, California (MRY)
  • Phoenix, Arizona (PHX)
  • Reno, Nevada (RNO)
  • Santa Fe, New Mexico (SAF)
  • San Diego, California (SAN)
  • Santa Barbara, California (SBA)
  • San Jose, California (SJC)
  • Salt Lake City, Utah (SLC)
  • Sacramento Metro, California (SMF)
  • Tucson, Arizona (TUS)

All of these cities are already on the oneworld map through American Airlines, American Eagle and/or other members of the alliance. 

SkyWest will operate 11 Bombardier CRJ200s on this network, using flight numbers in the range AA2600-2699.  

ExpressJet will offer the full range of oneworld services and benefits on flights operated under the American Eagle brand from Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) from 14 de febrero de 2013.

It will offer around a dozen destinations initially.  Details will be announced soon, but they will include at least one destination that is new to the oneworld map - Beaumont/Port Arthur, Texas (BPT).  ExpressJet will also fly as American Eagle between DFW and Fargo, North Dakota (FAR). 

ExpressJet will also operate 11 Bombardier CRJ200s on this network, using flight numbers in the range AA2500-2599. 

These flights by SkyWest and ExpressJet will offer the usual American Eagle standard of service in the air and on the ground.

Under a franchise agreement with American Airlines, both SkyWest and ExpressJet will paint their aircraft in the American Eagle livery, with flight attendants wearing a navy blue uniform with American Eagle accessories.

As oneworld affiliates on routes they fly as American Eagle, SkyWest and ExpressJet will offer the full range of oneworld services and benefits - including, for members of any oneworld member airlines' frequent flyer programme, the ability to earn mileage rewards and tier status points, redeem mileage rewards, and, for top tier cardholders, access to lounges where they are available.    At the same time, these flights will be featured in all oneworld fares.

SkyWest and ExpressJet are two of the largest regional airlines in the USA.  SkyWest flies more than 320 aircraft, boarding 24,5 million customers in 2011 to more than 60 airports in North America.  ExpressJet operates a total of more than 410 aircraft, carrying 31 million passengers in 2011 to some 190 airports in North America. 

Their oneworld affiliation covers only the SkyWest and ExpressJet flights operated as American Eagle.  The affiliation does not extend to other SkyWest or ExpressJet flights not carrying the American Eagle brand.

Besides its 11 full member airlines, oneworld also includes some 25 affiliate members.  These are generally regional airlines with strong links with oneworld full member airlines. 

American Eagle has been an affiliate member of oneworld since its parent American Airlines became a founder member of the alliance, at its launch in 1999.  Executive Airlines already operates as American Eagle on flights from Miami and San Juan (Puerto Rico).  AmericanConnection, operated by Chautauqua Airlines on routes from Chicago O'Hare, is also a oneworld affiliate member.

Other oneworld affiliate members include:

  • airberlin's Austria-based affiliate NIKI.
  • British Airways subsidiaries BA CityFlyer and franchisees Comair of South Africa and Sunair of Denmark.
  • Cathay Pacific's Dragonair.
  • Iberia Regional Air Nostrum and Iberia Express.
  • JAL Express, J-AIR and Japan Transocean Air.
  • LAN Argentina, LAN Ecuador and LAN Peru.
  • QantasLink and its operators Airlink (National Jet Systems), Eastern Australian Airlines, Sunstate Airlines and Jetconnect.
  • S7's Globus.

About oneworld

oneworld aims to be the first choice airline alliance for the world's frequent international travellers.   It brings together some of the best and biggest names in the airline business - airberlin, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, LAN, Qantas, Royal Jordanian and S7 Airlines, and around 25 affiliates.  Malaysia Airlines is on track to join on 1 de febrero de 2013, followed later by SriLankan Airlines and Qatar Airways. 

Between them, oneworld's active member airlines and members elect:

  • Serve some 860 airports in almost 160 countries, with more than 9​300 daily departures.
  • Offer some 550 airport lounges for premium customers.
  • Carry almost a million passengers a day on a combined fleet of more than 2​500 aircraft.
  • Generate nearly US$ 120 billion annual revenues in total.

oneworld enables its members to offer their customers more services and benefits than any airline can provide on its own.  These include a broader route network, opportunities to earn and redeem frequent flyer miles and points across the combined oneworld network and more airport lounges.   oneworld also offers one of the most extensive ranges of alliance fares. 

oneworld is current holder of three leading international awards for airline alliances - named the Best Airline Alliance by Global Traveler in its GT Tested Reader Survey 2011 Awards for the second year running, the World's Leading Airline Alliance in the 2011 World Travel Awards, for the ninth consecutive year, and the Best Airline Alliance 2011 in Australian Business Traveller's debut awards.