Royal Jordanian Airlines was welcomed on board oneworld^®, the world’s leading quality global airline alliance, at a series of special celebration events in its Jordan home base.

Royal Jordanian is the first airline from the entire Middle East to find a home with any of the global airline alliances and oneworld’s first recruit for some six years.  Its addition marks the first step in the alliance’s biggest expansion since it was launched eight years ago. 

It will be joined on board oneworld in the coming days by Japan Airlines, Asia-Pacific’s largest carrier, along with five JAL associates as affiliate members, and by Malév Hungarian Airlines.   Two more members of the LAN alliance will board at the same time as well, as affiliate members - LAN Argentina and LAN Ecuador. 

Royal Jordanian and together with these other oneworld recruits started offering oneworld services and benefits from the beginning of this month, with all on board from 1 April.  Dragonair will join them later this year.

To mark Royal Jordanian’s addition to the grouping today, the airline’s Chairman Nasser Lozi and Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive Samer Majali were joined at the company’s Amman home by senior representatives and uniformed staff from all its new partners.

Leading the delegation of visitors were Willie Walsh, Chief Executive of British Airways, which has acted as RJ’s oneworld sponsor, and oneworld Managing Partner John McCulloch.

Royal Jordanian has already joined the alliance’s Global Explorer round-the-world fare product, which includes some other carriers which are not part of the alliance, and will participate in all the alliance’s other fares and sales products from 1 April.

This is a massive step which provides notable increased access to Jordan in markets that the JTB aspires to grow in amongst others.