The Oneworld airline alliance says it does not take any action regarding its Russian member airline S7. Instead, it appears to be shifting the responsibility to its members.
At a recent press conference on 17th March, Oneworld CEO Rob Gurney stated that airlines should make their own independent decisions on how to approach their relationships with S7 Airlines. Gurney said the alliance stays in close contact with all its members regarding the situation in Russia and Ukraine, but it would ultimately be up to each individual company to make their own assessments of the situation.
When asked by International Flight Network whether he would find it appropriate to suspend S7’s Oneworld membership, at least temporarily, CEO Rob Gurney declined to make any further comments.
S7 Airlines has been a member of the Oneworld alliance since 2010. Amid the ongoing war in Ukraine, various countries have responded with sanctions, which also heavily affect Russian airlines. This led many international airlines to cancel their partnership agreements, such as codeshares, with Russian carriers, including Skyteam member Aeroflot and Oneworld member S7 Airlines.
Unlike several of their members airlines, the two alliances have so far not made any official decisions on their Russian members. Acting Oneworld alliance Chairman Akbar Al Baker also serves as CEO of Qatar Airways, which continues to cooperate with airlines in Russia.
Jakob Wert is an aviation journalist from Germany. He built up the website IFN.news and is the Editor-In-Chief of International Flight Network.
