Alaska Airlines Will Join Oneworld Alliance In 2020 | One Mile at a Time

In February 2020, many of us were caught off guard when it was announced that Alaska Airlines would be joining the oneworld alliance by the summer of 2021.

Well, it looks like the timeframe for that is now being moved forward significantly. I guess one benefit of the current pandemic is that airlines can use this opportunity to expedite any adjustments they've been planning.

Alaska Airlines will join oneworld this year

Alaska Airlines CEO Brad Tilden has indicated that Alaska Airlines intends to join the oneworld alliance earlier than initially expected. The Seattle-based airline is hoping for a formal invite to join oneworld this month, and then hopes to be an alliance member before the end of the year.

As he describes it, this process is on a fast track, which is made easier by the fact that Alaska Airlines already has partnerships with several oneworld airlines, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Japan Airlines, and Qantas.

Alaska hopes to join the oneworld alliance in 2020

Tilden says that oneworld was the obvious choice for the airline, as he thinks this will help build more loyalty in Alaska's core markets.

All of this comes as American Airlines continues to build up its presence in Seattle, with the airline planning on launching flights to Bangalore, London, and Shanghai. The two airlines have had a partnership for years, which was recently strengthened.

American is launching three long haul routes from Seattle

Questions remain about Alaska's participation in oneworld

When it comes to the awesome Mileage Plan loyalty program, there are a lot of questions remaining about the implications of Alaska Airlines joining oneworld. We don't have answers to these questions yet, though I know some of the things that I'm wondering about:

t
• How will Alaska status map over to oneworld? Presumably MVP will get oneworld Ruby and MVP Gold will get oneworld Sapphire, but will MVP Gold 75K get oneworld Emerald?
t
• Will Alaska lose any non-oneworld partners as the airline joins oneworld?
t
• Alaska currently has a separate award chart for every partner airline, so will that continue, or will the airline simplify its award chart structure, which could be both a blessing and a curse?
t
• With Alaska belonging to a more unified alliance, could we see the airline start to allow multiple partners on a single award ticket?
t
• If a new award chart is introduced, will Alaska continue with its generous policies of allowing stopovers even on one way awards?

Will MVP Gold 75K status come with oneworld Emerald?

Alaska has historically done a phenomenal job with its Mileage Plan loyalty program, and I don't think the airline is looking to lose any loyalty with this move. At the same time, I have a hard time imagining that everything will work in our favor.

Of course it would be awesome if there were a unified award chart with really low award pricing, with stopovers on one way awards, and with multiple airlines allowed on each award, but that also seems too good to be true.

I guess we'll get the answers to many of these questions sooner rather than later.

How will Mileage Plan redemtpion rates change?

Bottom line

Alaska Airlines now intends to join the oneworld alliance before the end of 2020. That sure is a fast tracked membership process. I'm excited about Alaska joining oneworld, though also have a lot of questions, and am a bit worried about the implications of this for the unique value proposition of Mileage Plan.

Personally I'm hoping - and even anticipate - that Mileage Plan will become one of the most lucrative oneworld airline loyalty programs.