Alaska Airlines delays full Oneworld membership to early 2021
Alaska Airlines is pushing back its timeline for becoming a full member of the Oneworld alliance by a few months.
The Seattle-based carrier hopes to complete the joining process by "sometime late Q1" — or first quarter — Alaska president Ben Minicucci said at the Cowen Global Transportation & Sustainable Mobility Conference on Wednesday. As recently as July, Alaska hoped to be a full alliance member by year-end.
The delay means Alaska frequent flyers will have to wait a little bit longer before they can receive Oneworld benefits. Those include earning and redeeming miles, and receiving reciprocal elite status benefits across the alliance's 14 member carriers.
Sign up for the free daily TPG newsletter for more airline news!
Alaska's case for joining Oneworld stands. The airline is betting that it can better sell a global travel portfolio to corporations along the West Coast — particularly in and around its Seattle base — as an alliance member rather than as an independent airline with a smattering of partnerships around the world.
As part of that bet on global relevance, Alaska has renewed its partnership with American Airlines. American has since unveiled plans to add flights to Bangalore (BLR), London Heathrow (LHR) and Shanghai Pudong (PVG) from Seattle. The airlines are codesharing on the international routes as well as on select domestic routes that touch the West Coast.
One of the challenges Alaska faces joining Oneworld is turning on all of necessary technology connections with the alliance, said Minicucci. He suggested that this, and other integration steps, are taking longer than initially thought.
However, even with the several-month delay, Alaska is still on track to join the alliance faster than it originally hoped. The airline's membership target was "mid-2021" when it first unveiled plans to join Oneworld in February.
Related: Alaska Airlines officially invited to be the next Oneworld alliance member
TPG featured card
at Bilt's secure site
Terms & restrictions apply. See rates & fees.
| 1X | Choose to earn up to 1X points on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee |
| 2X | Earn 2X points + the option to earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday purchases |
Pros
- Choice to earn up to 1 Bilt Point per dollar spent on rent and mortgage payments
- Elevated everyday earnings with both Bilt Points and the option to earn Bilt Cash
- $400 Bilt Travel Portal hotel credit per year (up to $200 biannually)
- $200 Bilt Cash annually
- Priority Pass membership
- No foreign transaction fees
Cons
- Moderate annual fee
- Designed primarily for members seeking a premium, all-in-one card
- Earn points on housing with no transaction fee
- Choose to earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday spend. Use Bilt Cash to unlock point earnings on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee, up to 1X.
- 2X points on everyday spend
- $400 Bilt Travel Hotel credit. Applied twice a year, as $200 statement credits, for qualifying Bilt Travel Portal hotel bookings.
- $200 Bilt Cash (awarded annually). At the end of each calendar year, any Bilt Cash balance over $100 will expire.
- Welcome bonus (subject to approval): 50,000 Bilt Points + Gold Status after spending $4,000 on everyday purchases in the first 90 days + $300 of Bilt Cash.
- Priority Pass ($469/year value). See Guide to Benefits.
- Bilt Point redemptions include airlines, hotels, future rent and mortgage payments, Lyft rides, statement credits, student loan balances, a down payment on a home, and more.