Dragonair has announced that it will officially join Oneworld on November 1, providing increased connection opportunities for members across China and Southeast Asia.
The Hong Kong-based airline currently serves 19 destinations in mainland China, operating around 400 flights a week. The move will add twelve new Chinese destinations to the Oneworld network – Chongqing, Changsha, Chengdu, Fuzhou, Haikou, Kunming, Guilin, Ningbo, Nanjing, Shenyang, Sanya and Wuhan – bringing the number of mainland Chinese destinations served by the alliance to 22.
Dragonair also flies to Kota Kinabalu (Malaysia), and Phuket (Thailand), which are not yet featured on the alliance map, as well as Phnom Penh in Cambodia, which brings an additional country to the Oneworld network.
As a Oneworld member, Dragonair will offer the alliance's full range of services and benefits, allowing frequent flyers to earn and redeem mileage awards on any carrier in the oneworld network. Top-tier members will also have access to the alliance's 500 airport lounges worldwide.
Oneworld invited Dragonair – the eleventh carrier to join the alliance this year (including affiliates of Japan Airlines and LAN) – on board late last year, shortly after its integration with alliance founder member Cathay Pacific Airways in September 2006. Although now part of the Cathay Pacific group, Dragonair has retained a separate brand and identity, including its separate 'KA' flight code.
Kenny Tang, Dragonair's Chief Executive Officer, praised the latest development, saying: "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 Mainland China, along with the other business and leisure destinations we serve within the Asia Pacific region."
For more information visit dragonair.com, oneworld.com.
Report by Karen Eeuwens
