New oneworld website for German travel agents

10 maggio 2005

oneworld™, the leading quality international airline grouping, is introducing a special website for travel agents in Germany, to support the alliance's sales activity in this key market.

It features a range of on-line and downloadable tools to make it easier for them to sell its fares and products:

  • An easy-to-use reference guide to codes and short cuts to check availability on any oneworld carrier through any of the major distribution systems - Amadeus, Galileo, SABRE or Worldspan.
  • Product briefs on the alliance's unrivalled range of consumer fares.
  • Latest prices of all oneworld sales products available in Germany.

Travel agents in Germany can access their new oneworld website at www.oneworld.com/agents-germany

oneworld's Market Development Manager Germany Gundula Schulz-Pedersen said: "Germany is one of oneworld's most important markets worldwide, which is why it is one of the very first where we are rolling out our dedicated travel agency web pages.

"Together, our airlines provide air travelers throughout Germany with a real alternative to the dominant home carrier. The aim of this new site is to make it even easier for travel agents here to sell our services, by providing a one-stop-shop to everything they need to know about oneworld."

oneworld members comprise some of the biggest and best names in the air travel business - American Airlines, British Airways, Qantas, Cathay Pacific, Iberia, LAN, Finnair and Aer Lingus, along with their dozen affiliate carriers.

Germany is one of only two countries worldwide served by flights of all oneworld member airlines. Last year, these airlines offered almost 12 million seats on flights to or from the country, with an overall share of around 10 per cent of the German air travel market.

Between them, oneworld carriers serve nine airports across Germany - Berlin Schoenefeld, Berlin Tegel, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hannover, Munich and Stuttgart. Today, they serve these gateways a total of almost 1.700 times a week, with direct flights to 19 destinations in Europe, the Americas and Asia.

From those points, they provide the smoothest of connections to the 600 destinations in 135 territories served by the alliance worldwide, with frequent flyers in any oneworld airline's programme offered their privileges throughout this unrivalled global network.

With oneworld the first of the global alliances to introduce interline e-ticketing between all its partners, customers can travel throughout this network with just one electronic ticket.

The 12 fare and sales products it markets in Germany comprise excellent value and flexible tickets for travel on any of its airlines - covering the needs of customers ranging from captains of industry and companies to student backpackers, whether they want to fly right around the world, tour round one continent, or send staff regularly on trips to any of hundeds of destinations worldwide.

Germany is currently just one of two countries worldwide where oneworld offers its businessflyer product, enabling small and medium sized companies to benefit from discounts of up to 50 per cent on air travel worldwide in return for a more regular relationship with the alliance's airlines.

More than a thousand companies have signed up so far, working with more than 600 travel agency partners across the countries. Revenues from this product have increased by 350 per cent in the past year.

Other oneworld fares and sales products available from Germany include:

  • oneworld Explorer: The unique, flexible, great value round-the-world fare – the obvious choice if you want to include trips in Australia – available for travel in economy, business or even first class. Unlike other round-the-world fares, oneworld Explorer's price is based on the number of continents you visit, not the mileage you fly, making planning and pricing your journey much more simple and flexible. Prices from Germany start from €2.000.
  • Global Explorer: Another round-the-world, this time offered in conjuction with five airlines outside oneworld - Air Pacific, Gulf Air, Swiss International Air Lines, Polynesian and Australian Airlines - increasing the number of destinations available, particularly in the South West Pacific. Unlike oneworld Explorer, its fares are calculated on the miles flown. It has four versions - for flying up to 26.000 miles, up to 29.000 miles or up to 39.000 miles in Economy class, or up to 34.000 for travel in any class. Prices from Germany start from €1.899.
  • Visit Passes: Offering multi-sector flights on any oneworld carrier in a specific continent – once you have flown to that continent longhaul. They offer a great value way to travel around a region. oneworld is the only alliance offering this sort of tickets for all six continents.
  • Circle Trip Explorer: Similar to oneworld Explorer, but for trips that do not involve flying completely around the world, for instance from Europe, to Africa, then on to Australia and back to Europe via Asia. There is no competitive alliance fare in the market.
  • eventflyer: Special fares offered to organisers of and delegates attending international conferences or conventions.

For full details of all fares, see oneworld.com or any oneworld member airline.

About oneworld: oneworld brings together some of the best and biggest names in the airline business - American Airlines, British Airways, Qantas, Iberia, Cathay Pacific, LAN, Finnair and Aer Lingus - enabling them 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. Together, its members serve 600 destinations in 135 countries. It is the first global alliance with the customer convenience of interline e-ticketing between all its member airlines. oneworld was voted the world's best airline alliance by readers of Business Traveller magazine in its 2004 poll and named the World's Leading Airline Alliance for the second year running in the latest World Travel Awards, based on votes cast by travel professionals from 80.000 agencies in more than 200 countries. Note: LAN affiliate LAN ECUADOR is not a member of oneworld.