A formal agreement was signed by liquor baron and Kingfisher chief Vijay Mallya and the top officers of all the 12 'oneworld' partner airlines, after a team of the global alliance visited Delhi and Mumbai, completed a safety audit and set in motion the process through which the Indian carrier would become full-fledged member of the global partnership.
The IATA suspended Kingfisher from its Geneva-based clearing house because of non-payment of dues to airline members.
The Vijay Mallya-owned carrier would become the first airline from the subcontinent to join any of the global airline groups, the two others being 'Star Alliance' and 'SkyTeam', spokespersons of the airline and the alliance said.
Ealier at a press conference, the Oneworld also announced the joining of Srilankan Airlines in its fold.
The airline had quit the Mumbai-London route in 2009 because of losses
Getting his bruised Kingfisher Airlines ready for that auspicious occasion is the least of his worries, as Mallya is scrambling to find an equity partner to keep his Kingfisher aloft.
The UB Group-controlled Kingfisher Airlines may cancel its orders for Airbus A380s and A350s or swap these planes for smaller planes like A320s and A330s.
However, the names which are doing rounds are Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines. The latter is yet to start its international operations, which is a major requirement for joining an alliance. The merged Air India has already been invited to join its competing Star Alliance. OneWorld brings together some of the biggest names in the airline business, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Qantas and Royal Jordanian.
No date has been announced for Air India's induction into the club of more than 28 leading carriers
Vistara Chief Executive Officer Phee Teik Yeoh is expected to meet the senior management of BA over the next few days to discuss the partnership.
Kingfisher Airlines on Thursday said it has signed a comprehensive frequent flier agreement with American Airlines.
Finnair has said that flying from Helsinki to Bangalore and Chennai, where Finnish companies have a large business presence, is part of its expansion plans, besides leveraging from an alliance with Kingfisher Airlines in India.
These trips can be as short as a month to 45 days.
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