Russian domestic airline, S7 Airlines, is to join the Oneworld alliance.
The airline was unanimously elected on board by the grouping’s existing 10 member airlines.
S7 will become part of oneworld during 2010.
As a first step, its network will be added from June 1 to the Global Explorer round-the-world fare offered by all oneworld member airlines and selected carriers that are not part of the alliance.
British Airways will support S7 through its 18-month alliance implementation programme, as its oneworld sponsor.
S7 serves 72 destinations worldwide – 38 of them in Russia.
It will add 54 cities to the oneworld map – 35 of them in Russia.
It will bring eight countries onto the alliance’s network – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
S7’s main hub Moscow Domodedovo is served also by oneworld members American Airlines, British Airways, Iberia, Japan Airlines and Royal Jordanian. Its secondary hubs are Novosibirsk and Irkutsk.
By Bev Fearis
